


Something New

by bitboozy



Series: Domesticated [38]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Gen, Post-Series, Return to Scotland!, Romance, This is a love story, Wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-18 21:53:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22833748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitboozy/pseuds/bitboozy
Summary: Ellie and Alec finally get married in Scotland.
Relationships: Alec Hardy & Ellie Miller, Alec Hardy/Ellie Miller
Series: Domesticated [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550554
Comments: 230
Kudos: 211





	1. Chapter 1

“Didn’t realize we… _knew_ this many people.”

“ _You_ don’t. I do.“

Alec and Ellie sit at the dining room table, nearing 10pm on a Monday. The little ones are in bed and the older ones are off fending for themselves. They’ve recently discovered roughly a two hour period of time every evening, between eight and ten, where the house is largely quiet and their time is their own. Alec’s legs are crossed, his chair just slightly pushed back from the table, but Ellie’s feet are in his lap, though her legs just barely reach him. She is flipping through RSVP cards while he records the responses. In a notebook, though she suggested with a grumble that he at least use his iPad. Things go missing so easily here.

Ellie holds up a card. “Oi, thought for certain _Becca_ would turn us down. But no.”

“Still holdin’ a torch for Paul, I suspect.”

She smirks at him. “Since when do you pay _any_ attention to social happenings or participate in gossip in any way.”

He looks startled. “…Dunno, honestly.” He shakes his head, disappointed in himself. “Town’s gotten to me.”

She slaps another card down. “Dad felt the need to RSVP apparently.”

“Well, we felt the need to send him an invite, it’s only proper,” Alec argues.

Ellie mimicks him silently and he doesn’t see it.

“Ah, Paul’s one invite is a yes,” she says. Alec looks up and blinks at her. “Sister in Inverness he asked us to invite.”

He nods. “Right.” But he clearly doesn’t remember.

She hands him the card. “Do you find the idea of a vicar having sex as troubling as I do?”

He looks up. “What now?”

“I mean, I know they’re _allowed_ and all, but they still…dress like proper Catholic priests and I find the whole thing a bit unsettling,” Ellie explains, making a cringey face. “D’you think people choose to be vicars instead of going Catholic purely because of the sex thing?”

He just stares back at her for a moment, then shakes his head. “No idea.”

“Don’t know if I could ever marry a vicar, me.”

“Luckily you’ll never have to find out,” Alec replies with a grumble.

“Oh!” Ellie stares at an RSVP card, then looks over at Alec with surprise. “Look who’s said yes.”

She hands him the card. He stares at it too.

“Tess Henchard,” Ellie says, with an affect in her voice. “ _Plus one_.”

“Hmm.” Alec puts the card down and records her response in the notebook.

“Plus one, Alec!” She presses her toes into his thigh to elicit a response from him. He looks at her blankly. “She’s got herself a new _lover_!”

“Don’t say _lover_.”

Ellie is too tickled to pay him any mind. “Oh, it’s so devilishly _perfect_ of her to introduce him to us for the first time at our _wedding_ , oh I love it.”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but you do have a rather frightenin’ addiction to drama,” Alec tells her.

“Are you jealous?!”

He raises an eyebrow. “Of Tess’ new boyfriend, good christ no. Godspeed to him.”

“You must feel a little twinge of something.” She nudges him again with her foot.

“D’you _want_ me to be jealous?” He retorts.

Ellie sits up straight. “I happen to be very secure in our relationship, that sort of thing doesn’t bother me,” she says. “You’d have to look me dead in the eyes and expressly say _Ellie, I’m leaving you_ , for me to believe anything could come between us.”

Just the idea of it, hearing _her_ say the words, is enough to disturb him to his core.

Then she sits back, biting a pencil as she mulls it over. “I wonder what would have to happen.”

He’s frowning. “In order to _what_.”

“In order for you to leave me.” She’s staring at the wall in thought. “S’pose you’d have to fall in love with someone else.” Satisfied, she turns to him. “Can you think of anything else?”

He’s now staring at her incredulously, frown deepening. “Can I think of any other reason for me to _leave you_?”

“Yes,” she answers simply. “Maybe if the fighting got so bad we couldn’t take it anymore? Or if some kind of tragedy struck and we never recovered?”

“Christ, Ellie.”

She shrugs. “It’s sort of interesting to think about it. Purely as a curiosity.”

He sighs heavily. “I can think of no reason. None whatsoever. For me to ever leave you.”

She smiles. “Ah, there you are, that’ll be a good start to your vows then.”

He rubs his temple. “You’re maddenin’.”

She grins. “I know.”

Ellie puts down the cards and reaches for her cup of tea. He leans back in his chair and starts to rub her feet.

“You know what I was thinking about earlier today at work?”

“How to solve the Greenridge case?”

“No, I was wondering what might have happened had Danny never died, had Joe not been an awful person,” she tells him. “You show up in Broadchurch, take my job, and then we…work on cases about stolen livestock or some such. Me with my happy marriage and two kids, you with your…PTSD and broken heart.”

Alec is listening to her intently, but still with a frown on his face.

“We’d still have fallen in love. Don’t you think? Somehow?”

He keeps massaging her foot with one hand, and with the other reaches for his tea as well. He takes a sip. “Well, I with you, certainly. Dunno ‘bout you with me.”

 _She’s_ frowning now. “Why?”

“Because you’d have been…you know, you’d have been in love with Joe. You’d not have been lookin’ for it,” he explains hesitantly.

“I wasn’t looking for it as it _was_ ,” Ellie argues. “Don’t you think if two people are meant to fall in love it’s bound to happen, regardless of circumstance?”

He shrugs, looking down into his mug. “Dunno, El.”

“I do.”

He doesn’t look at her, but he does put his mug down and concentrate both of his hands on rubbing her feet.

“I think it would have started with sexual tension. Very inconvenient at the office, of course. And which would have made our sparring _worse_ because we’d be trying to conceal our desires, both to ourselves and others. One night we’d be working alone together late at night. Be making tea in the kitchen. Close quarters, you’d brush up against me moving past, then you’d stop…hoping I’d want you to. You’d turn to me and we’d _almost_ kiss, then we’d both walk away quickly,” she says, folding her arms across her chest in thought. “I’d go home and wake Joe up in the middle of the night for a shag, just to prove I didn’t want you, but I’d end up _thinking_ of you the whole time…”

“Ellie.” He involuntarily pinches the arch of her foot. “What’s happenin’ right now.”

“The sexual tension would eventually get to be too much. One of us would request to stop working as directly with the other so much, probably me,” Ellie continues. “Joe would start to suspect something. So he’d start showing up at work to pick me up at the end of the day, or for lunch, start sending me flowers to the office for no reason. You’d start to get even broodier and more annoying.”

He’s staring at her, mouth slightly open, deeply annoyed yet somehow fascinated.

“Your heart would get worse. You’d still end up in hospital. I’d still throw grapes at you. You’d not talk to me at all though, afraid you’d betray your real feelings in the rawness of the moment.”

Alec finds himself leaning forward just a bit. “…And then?”

“ _Then_. Something would happen, something undoubtedly dramatic, and we’d find ourselves somewhat evasively admitting our feelings for one another, but without actually saying the words. And I’d convince you to get the pacemaker surgery. I’d tell you nothing could ever happen between us, ever, if you didn’t. I’d be conflicted about saying it of course, but your health comes first,” she tells him.

The front door open and closes. “Only me!” Daisy calls out. “Straight to bed.”

They both call out, “Night, love!” as they hear her jog up the stairs.

“You’d get the surgery and then neither of us would know what to do next. So we’d avoid each other again. Joe and I would probably go away on holiday or something, maybe just a weekend. For the distraction. You’d be furious with me. On holiday, I’d realize how miserable I was without you.”

Alec nods. “Yes.”

“I’d show up at your stupid little chalet as soon as we got back into town. And I’d kiss the hell out of you in the doorway.”

He leans forward. “Mm-hmm.”

“Then we’d have the best shag of both our lives. All over the house.”

“Well that part actually happened,” Alec points out.

“It would have been _different though_ ,” Ellie insists. “ _Forbidden_ and _wrong_.”

“Mm…” He realizes he’s holding her foot up against his crotch.

“We’d be miserable…or _I’d_ be miserable, rather, but my god the sex would be all the more incredible for it,” she says, biting her lip. “Desperate and urgent and needy and… _fucking transcendent_. Like the end of the world."

He shifts a bit in his chair. His trousers are getting tight now.

She picks up another RSVP card. “Anyway looks like Mark’s going to make the wedding.” She looks at Alec, who is staring at her, lips parted. “Write that down.”

“Uh.” Distractedly, he makes a note of it. “Can we, um. Finish this tomorrow?”

“Why, what would you like to do instead?” She asks innocently, rubbing her foot against the growing tightness in his trousers.

“ _Ellie_ ,” he groans impatiently.

She grins, swinging her legs off of his leg. “Right then, upstairs to roleplay our alternative universe.”

As they both stand, his mobile rings.

“Noooo,” Ellie complains.

He glances at it and, with a sigh that tells her exactly where the call is coming from, answers it. “What.”

Ellie folds her arms across her chest, shifting her weight back and forth.

“Right. Right. Yeah, right, all right.” He hangs up. “Body on the beach. Full grown adult, at least.”

Ellie sighs. “I’ll go.”

He nods and they head toward the foyer together.

“I’ll phone if we need you, but stay with the kids for now, yeah?”

She puts hers her coat on, grabs her bag, then gives him a quick peck on the lips.

“Back in a while.”

“Look after yourself.”

She smiles knowingly, then slips out the door.

*

It’s nearing 2am when Ellie quietly comes through the door again. The house is predictably quiet and dimly lit. Upstairs, the door to Aila’s room is slightly ajar. Ellie peeks her head in just in time to see Alec, in his pyjamas, lifting a fussy baby out of her crib.

“Hi,” she whispers.

He blinks at her sleepily, while Aila immediately starts bouncing and leaning toward Ellie, who is already unbuttoning her blouse.

“I’ll nurse her back to sleep, it’s all right.”

Without argument, Alec hands the baby to her. She sits down in the rocking chair and unfastens her bra.

“What’s the word?” Alec leans back against the wall with a yawn.

“Eighty-three-year-old white male. All signs point to suicide, though possibly assisted. Looks like he took a morphine overdose, _then_ jumped, just to rule out any possibility of survival,” Ellie explains. “We’ll have a toxicology report in the morning, but appears to be fairly cut and dry. Sad, though.”

“Recognize him?”

Ellie shakes her head. “Likely drove in from out of town, specifically for the cliffs. But there’s no vehicle to be found, which is in part why there’s talk of a possible assist.”

“And the other part?”

“The amount of morphine we suspect…at a certain point someone would have had to force-feed him, so to speak.”

He rubs his face. “You don’t think it’s a homicide made to _look_ like – “

“Well of course, yeah, possible, but the man was clearly ill, probably terminally by the looks of him,” she replies. “Like I said, know more in the morning.”

Aila has already fallen asleep again, her lips loosening around Ellie’s nipple as her head tips back slightly.

“Ah, she’s out.” Ellie stands. “See, that all shop talk knocks her right out.”

She rocks her for a moment, patting her back, to be sure she’s out all the way, then places her back in her crib. Alec follows her out of the nursery, closing the door behind them.

In the lowlight of Alec’s bedside lamp, Ellie changes into her pyjamas and Alec sits on the edge of the bed watching her.

“Tom didn’t come home until near midnight.”

Ellie’s expression shifts quickly to one of disappointment and annoyance as she puts on her pyjamas. “What did you do?”

“Told him he’s to come straight home after school for the rest of the week."

“Good. What was his excuse?”

“Said he lost track of time at Erin’s.”

Ellie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll bet he did.”

She gets into her side of the bed and he gets back into his.

“I’ll get up with Aila in the mornin’,” Alec offers.

“Thank you.”

He switches off the lamp. She leans over and kisses him. “Love you.”

“Love you.”

*

Shortly after noon the next day, Alec sits behind the desk in his new office on the other side of the CID floor, drowning in paperwork of some kind. The new office is not quite double the size of his old one, but still a suitable upgrade. Nicer couch. Larger desk. An actual window to the outside world.

At Ellie’s encouragement, he has personalized it a bit, but only a bit. For the first time, his desk is covered with picture frames. There’s one of Ellie, taken about a year earlier at the fun fair. She had gotten on the carousel alone, to show Fred there was nothing to be afraid of. He had snapped a picture at just the right moment of her looking back at them, smiling. One of few good photos he’s ever taken. Then there’s one of Daisy, Tom, and Fred at the beach last summer. Fred has been buried in the sand up to his shoulders, and is utterly gleeful about it. There’s one of Ellie nursing a one-month-old Aila in the rocking chair at sunrise, pale light streaming in. She hadn’t known he had taken it until she saw it on his desk. Then there’s a recent one of Aila, propped up on the couch on her own, grinning with a teething ring in her mouth.

He’s kept pictures in his wallet before, and still does, and he occasionally feels a bit self-conscious about having them on display. But getting to look at the only people who matter to him throughout the day is an excellent motivator, and he wishes he’d done it sooner.

Ellie rushes in through his open office door.

“Suicide, baby!”

He looks up from his computer, pulling off his glasses. “Try not to sound so happy about it, eh?”

“Sorry.” She cringes. “It’s just – less work. You know.” She takes a few steps inside and throws some paperwork down on his desk. “The niece confessed to assisting. Seemed fairly traumatized by the whole thing.”

“Did you book her?”

“Yeah, here’s hoping she has a good barrister, I feel sorry for the girl,” Ellie answers.

She moves to the other side of his desk and stands next to his chair. He leans forward and lays his head at her stomach, forehead to her belly button. She smiles and runs a hand through his hair.

“Knackered, are you, love?”

“ _4:45am, Ellie_ ,” Alec groans.

“I know. I’m sorry. Baby girl just _loves_ her Daddy time.”

He moans loudly and tries to bury himself inside her.

“Have a little kip, why don’t you. Shut the door, close the blinds,” Ellie suggests. “It’s nearly lunch anyway.”

“Only if you join me.”

She rubs his back. “Can’t, I’m afraid. Dress shopping with Beth and Lucy over lunch.”

He raises his head to look at her. “Like weddin’ dress shoppin’?”

“Well, I must wear _something,_ or they won’t let me in the church!”

He leans back in his chair, but hooks his index finger through her belt loop. “Not goin’ to wear white, are you?”

“Good christ, no,” she replies. “I was thinking bright orange.”

He stares at her. She laughs, then bends down to kiss him. “I love you, I’ll be back later.”

*

Ellie’s office, aka Alec’s old office, looks entirely different than it had before. She’s not only rearranged the furniture, but fully redecorated it. A new lamp, an essential oil diffuser, various knick-knacks. Photos of family and friends everywhere. A few of Fred’s drawings tacked to the wall. And of course, her pens are held in a mug that says HOT MAMA, which she’d gotten herself in Florida a few years back and refused to part with.

At nearly 4pm, Alec saunters in, hands in his trouser pockets, and leans against the door frame.

“Pardon me, Detective Inspector.”

She looks up from her desk. “What’s up, Chief?” She grins.

He continues in, closing the door halfway, then sitting on her couch. “Find the perfect dress?”

She sighs heavily, leaning back. “Not hardly. Seems we’ve just begun.”

Alec looks back at her skeptically. “Barely two weeks to go.”

“I _know_ , thank you. Might require a trip to civilization.”

“ _How_ civilized?”

“Not a _bad_ excuse to pop up to London…”

Alec hates London. His face conveys as much.

“Well _you_ don’t have to go,” Ellie reminds him.

“Think I’m gonna knock off early. Get a nap in before the evening’s chaos begins.”

“Alec Hardy? Knock off early?” She gasps mockingly at him. “Good for you. Text Molly first so she doesn’t get excited and think _she_ ’s knocking off early. And don’t let Aila see you.”

“Will do.” He lifts himself off the couch again. “Stew tonight.”

“Thrilling!”

He walks over to her desk and kisses her. “See you later. Maybe we can, um, go back to that…roleplaying idea.”

Her eyes twinkle. “Read my mind.”

*

“I told Greer we are _not_ doing an open bar.”

Alec spits out his toothpaste into the sink.

“Of course we are!” Ellie calls back from the bedroom. “We’re asking people to come all the way up to Scotland and get a room for the night, the least we can do is provide them with an open bar.”

“Ellie, _my_ family and an open bar is _not_ a good idea,” he argues.

She joins him in the loo to wash her face. “It’ll be _fine_. We’ll all get pissed and have a ball.”

“I’d like to _remember_ our wedding, thank you very much.” He moves past her into the bedroom. “And be, you know. _Functional_ on our wedding night.”

A loud guffaw echoes out from the loo. “Priorities, yes.”

He sits down on the bed. “What on earth are we going to _do_ for our wedding night?”

“Thought that’d be obvious.”

He hears her start brushing her teeth. “But _where_ , I mean. And what of the kids?”

“We’ll work it out. Maybe get someone to stay at the house with the kids and we’ll get a room.”

With a sigh, he flops down on the mattress. “Doesn’t it all seem a bit much to you?”

Ellie appears in the doorway, toothbrush in her mouth. “Alec, _how_ long have we waited for this?”

“It’s just. You know. We’ve already _built_ our life together, and it’s…second weddings. It’s a lot of fanfare.”

With a frown, Ellie turns back to the sink and spits, then comes into the bedroom fully. She sits on the edge of the mattress next to him.

“I’ve thought about this, you know,” she tells him. “A lot, actually. I just…yes, second wedding for both of us, but it’s…we’ve finally done it, you know? This wedding is our _last_ wedding. There’s no reason why our first weddings should have gotten all the fanfare when it’s _this_ … _this_ love that deserves it. Just because we’re all settled in our life together doesn’t mean it isn’t worth celebrating. This is exactly what we _should_ be celebrating.”

He reaches for her hand. “You’re right.”

“Bloody well am.” She climbs on top of him and straddles his hips. “Are you excited?”

He cringes a bit, thinking of his obnoxious, boisterous family. She points a warning finger at him.

“Excited to _marry_ _me_ ,” she amends.

Alec runs his hands up and down her thighs. “Excited for you to _finally_ be Ellie Hardy after all this time, you better believe I am.”

“Good. Just focus on that.” She leans down to kiss him, then crawls over to her side of the bed and gets under the covers.

He turns and watches her. “Oh. Are we not going to --- the roleplay thing?”

“ _Oh_.” She groans, pulling the duvet up to her shoulder. “I’m totally knackered, love, I’m sorry. Tomorrow?”

He gets in on his side and opens his arms to her. She curls up to him, head on his chest. “Fine then.”

Alec switches off the bedside lamp and there’s a moment of quiet. “El.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you really think it would have gone down that way?” He asks. “If Danny hadn’t been – “

“Mm. Yes, probably.”

He strokes her arm, deep in thought.

“And how do you think it would have ended?”

“Badly.”

“Right.”

She sits up to kiss his cheek, then lays back down. “Go to sleep, love.” She can _feel_ his mind racing, so she rubs his chest soothingly. “Close your eyes.” He does. “Breathe.” He does. “And hold me.” He tightens his arms around her. “Now sleep.”

He does.

*


	2. Chapter 2

Around 6am, Ellie jolts awake, breaking free from a dream about her old boss. The one she’d been in love with before she’d met Joe. The one whose existence she only recalls about once a year now.

There’s just the faintest hint of pink light streaming through the cracks in the curtains, and she knows what time it is without even checking her mobile for accuracy. Alec’s arm is draped across her middle, but at her stirring, he turns onto his side, his back to her. The result of her unexpected dream is that she is now a bit too tingly to go back to sleep. She turns to Alec, pressing her body into his back. She slides her arm over him and slips her hand underneath his t-shirt. Unconsciously he stirs, clearly unable to decide whether he wants to lean back into her warm body or lean into her roaming hand. She presses her lips to his neck, then up behind his ear.

He mumbles something entirely unintelligible to her, still heavy with sleep, and in response she bites his earlobe impatiently.

“El,” he murmurs, and it’s somehow both a protest and an encouragement at once.

“Mmm.” She kisses along his hairline, then runs her tongue along the outside of his ear.

He slips his foot back in between hers and she grins.

“Fancy a quick one?”

The answer need not be spoken out loud. She slings one leg over his hip and he reaches back to grab her arse. Her hand slides down beyond the waistband of his boxers, which he only wears at night. She wraps her fingers around him and works him over until he’s good and hard, all the while sucking into the skin between his neck and shoulder.

“Jesus,” he exhales. “What were you dreamin’ of?”

“Never mind that.” She bites into his shoulder.

His eyes start to roll back in his head before he can pursue this line of questioning any further. Ellie guides him onto his back and kisses her way to his mouth as she continues to stroke him.

“El, you gotta – “ He reaches for her wrist. “Slow down if you want me to last.”

Her lips brush his ear again. “I like to feel you getting _so hard_ in my hand…”

“Nngghhh _Ellie_ …”

She does slow her movements a bit, but that only makes it worse, more tantalizing, more intense.

“Want your hard cock inside me.”

He opens his eyes. She’s leaning over him, watching herself stroke him into madness with a satisfied smile. Then she turns to his face to see his expression and is startled to find him staring right at her.

“What?!”

His eyes narrow. “What were you dreamin’ of?”

“ _Nothing._ ” She blinks. “ _You_.”

“Ellie.”

Then a crackle from the monitor on his nightstand, followed by, “Bababababababa.”

Saved by the baby!

She lets go of him abruptly, causing him to gasp. “I’ll get her.”

In the nursery, Aila is lying in her crib with her toes in her mouth, but still attempting her “Babababababa” at the same time.

“Well done, little bug!” She walks up to the crib. “You saved Mummy from big bad detective Daddy.”

Aila grins up at her mother and then says, “Ba.”

_Babababa_ has not entirely replaced _Yayayayaya_ but it has become the more popular choice of late. The _Ba_ sound is apparently more satisfying to the six-month-old than _Ya_.

Ellie lifts her out of her crib and changes her nappy on the changing table while the baby continues to babble to herself. Then she pokes her head out into the hallway, where she can hear that Alec has turned the shower on in the ensuite. She makes a pouty face at Aila.

“Poor Daddy.”

Aila laughs at her pouty face.

“Poor, poor Daddy.”

She kisses her cheek, then heads for the stairs.

*

Ellie strolls into Alec’s office, mobile in hand. She hears his own mobile ding at the same time. He looks up at her.

“That’s me, have a look.”

He picks up his mobile and squints at it.

“Just put your bloody glasses on, old man.”

He scowls at her, but then puts them on and looks at the screen again. “Better not be what I think it is.”

“Oh yes. That is our wedding cake.”

“Got soddin’ _pink_ flowers on it!”

Ellie walks over to his desk and sits on the edge. “This is on me. I let Greer have the final decision on this one. Frankly I think she let _Melody_ make the final decision, by the looks of it.”

Alec puts the mobile down and leans back in his chair, still grimacing at her. “Well, what’s the frostin’?”

“Buttercream.”

His scowl deepens. “The cake?”

“Chocolate. Sod all those stupid vanilla wedding cakes, nobody likes vanilla,” Ellie insists.

“ _I_ like vanilla.”

“Exactly.”

“They’re vanilla so you don’t end up with a giant brown stain on your _white_ wedding dress,” Alec argues.

“Fine thing I won’t be _wearing_ a white wedding dress then, isn’t it?”

He rotates his desk chair back and forth a bit. “Did you get your wee little…bacon-wrapped dates or what have you?”

“Mm- _hmm_ ,” Ellie replies enthusiastically. “And tiny kebabs. Tiny crab cakes. Apparently there’s even a tiny bangers and mash."

He frowns again. “How would that work?”

She shrugs. “Search me, but you better believe I’ll have _ten_ at least.”

He studies her for a moment, then says, “…Day’s goin’ to be all about food, isn’t it?”

She simply grins widely in response.

“Ah, okay.”

Ellie hops up from his desk. “Don’t forget I’m knocking off early to take Daisy dress-shopping. Dad’s taking the boys for tuxes.”

“What time?”

“Hour or so.” She kisses his cheek, then heads for the door.

“Bring takeaway home with you?”

“Will do.”

*

When Alec walks in the door that evening, the first thing he hears is Tom yelling at the television while playing X-Box.

“Watch your bloody mouth!” Ellie is yelling back at him.

She’s sitting on the floor with Aila, smoothing out the fancy lavender dress she’s wearing. She’s also sporting a purple headband with a bow at the top, and it’s clear she is on the fence about it.

“Oh, look, Aila, Daddy’s home!” Ellie says with an enthusiastic gasp. She picks up the baby and stands her up, holding her so that Alec can see the dress. “What do you think? Bridesmaid material?”

Aila keeps trying to swat at the headband, unsure of what it is or why it’s there. Ellie gently pulls it off her head.

“Okay _now_ what do you think?”

Alec kneels down to pick up the baby, then stands again. “Hmm.”

“Specifically chose material that wouldn’t be itchy, so she won’t make a fuss during the ceremony,” Ellie explains.

Aila looks at him expectantly, as if also waiting for his approval.

“Far too cute for her own good,” Alec decides.

“I think so too.”

Fred comes running into the room, wearing his tuxedo, and eventually lands right in Ellie’s lap. “Mumma, can we practice?”

“Love, you can’t be wearing your tux around the house,” Ellie chides him gently. “You’ll ruin it.”

“But it makes me look BIG.”

She cuddles him and kisses his hair. “I know it does, my sweet, but it’s _fragile_ , all right? And _expensive_. We must keep it in good condition for the wedding.”

Fred looks over at Alec. “Alec, do you like my tuxedo? It has a purple bow-tie.”

“Am I sensing a colour theme?” He glances over at Ellie, who demures, then turns back to Fred. “Looks right handsome on you, lad.”

“Bababababa.” Aila lays her head on Alec’s chest, obviously exhausted from a busy afternoon of shopping, and tucks it under his chin. Ellie grabs her pacifier and holds it out to him. He puts it in her mouth.

“So can we practice, Mumma?” Fred asks again.

“Oh, all right.” Ellie stands, brushing herself off. “But then we’re hanging up the tuxedo and not touching it again until the wedding. Understood?”

Fred nods.

“Okay, come on.”

Fred and Ellie step out into the hall. Alec follows and watches from the doorway. Mother and son stand side by side.

“Step together. Pause.” They take a step in unison. Then stops. “Now other foot first. Step together. Pause.”

They take a few more steps in unison. Then Fred reaches for Ellie’s hand.

“Step together, pause,” he says with her. “Step together, pause.”

Alec’s heart melts into pure liquid. He shifts a bit clumsily, having forgotten how to stand. Aila raises her head to look at him quizzically. He pats her back and she settles again.

“You’re doing great, little love,” she praises him.

They stop and Fred looks up at her. “Will I be all alone?”

“Tom will be with you, don’t you fret.” She smoothes back his hair affectionately. “All right now, go take it off. And lay it _nicely_ on your bed for me to hang up, yeah?”

“Okay Mumma.”

Fred scurries up the stairs. Ellie turns to Alec with a smile. “Nando’s in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

“I love you,” he says.

She blushes. “Stupid,” she replies, pushing herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Then she reaches for his free hand and tangles their fingers together, standing with him in the doorway.

“Daiz find a dress?” He asks.

Ellie sighs. “No, and she’s in a right foul mood about it, too. Dunno what the issue is.”

Alec cannot even venture to guess what could be eating at his moody teenage daughter. He looks down at Aila and her heavy eyelids.

“Reckon she’s ready to call it,” he says. “Does she need to eat first?”

Ellie nods, reaching for her. “I’ll nurse her, then you can put her down if you like.” She knows it’s his favourite thing to do, in particular if he’s hardly seen her all day. “Will you see about Fred? I just know we’re going to find that tux on the bloody floor.”

He nods, then leans down and kisses her. “ _Really_ love you.”

She pats his cheek. “Really love _you_. Now go on then.”

*

At 8:30, just after they’ve finally gotten Fred down for the night, Aila wakes up. This time crying, which she does not normally do. Ellie and Alec are curled up together on the couch, watching an old episode of _Keeping Up Appearances_. They both sigh.

“She can’t keep doing this,” Ellie says, as Alec moves to get up.

“I know.”

“We have to sleep train her.”

“I know.”

With a yawn, he trudges up the stairs. A few minutes later, he returns with the baby, still in her sleep sack. She’s stopped crying now, but her eyes are wet. He sits back down next to Ellie, and Aila immediately leans toward her, grasping at her jumper.

Ellie drops her head onto Alec’s shoulder with a groan. “I shouldn’t be feeding her again.”

Aila pinches Ellie’s breast, still leaning over her, whining.

“She’s not gonna go back down until you do.”

“Have to start her on the baby food. She’ll stay full for longer.”

Aila starts to cry, ramming her head into Ellie’s breast.

“Fine.”

She lifts up her jumper, unclasps her bra and cradles Aila to her breast grudgingly.

“No honeymoon for us if she keeps this up,” Ellie remarks.

“Thought we’d ruled out a honeymoon. Given everythin’.”

Ellie exhales and leans her head back over the edge of the couch. “I _know_ , but christ, we _deserve_ one, don’t we? Even a long weekend somewhere. _Outside_ the UK.”

He stretches out his arm and rests it on her shoulders. “Where would you like to go?”

“Bloody _anywhere_. Preferably somewhere with a bit of sunshine.”

“Mm. Noted.”

Aila tips her head back and looks up at Ellie with a contented little smile, for no discernible reason.

“Oh, stop it, you.”

*

As Alec kicks their bedroom door closed, he slams Ellie into her dresser.

“Oi!”

He locks it, then lifts her away from the dresser, pushing her toward the bed as he kisses her sloppily. They lose their balance, too focused on peeling off each other’s clothing, and veer in the opposite direction. Ellie yanks off his belt and they stumble into _his_ dresser, much shorter in height than hers. He pulls down her trousers and then says, “Sod it,” as he lifts her up onto the surface of the dresser. He fumbles with the front clasp of her bra, failing at the task because he can’t keep from fondling her tits. She unclasps it for him in a fit of impatience, then he buries his face in them happily. As he sucks a mark into the side of her breast, she pushes his unbuttoned shift off his shoulders then drags her fingernails up his back.

“Bite me,” she demands in a harsh whisper.

He sinks his teeth into the top of her breast and she gasps loudly, arching her back. He then peels off her knickers as he shakes his trousers off and she pulls down his briefs for him. He pushes inside her with a loud grunt and has no intention of easing into it. He thrusts into her rapidly and she leans back, propping herself up with her hands.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she breathes out in staccato. Then grabs him by the hair. “Turn me around.”

He breathes out, smiling at her fiendishly, then lifts her up off the dresser onto the floor before spinning her around and entering her again from behind. She leans over the dresser, palms flat on the surface, hair falling over her face. He reaches for both her breasts as he slams into her, panting and grunting wildly.

“ _Fuck_ , Ellie,” he curses into her back, then licks at a bead of sweat dripping down her skin. “I’m close,” he adds ruefully, but doesn’t slow his movements.

“No, no,” she whines. “Not yet. Bed.”

With a sound like he’s been punched in the gut, he pulls out of her and spins her around again. She slinks her arms up around his neck and kisses him, frenzied but deep. He begins guiding her to the bed but again they lose their balance in the dizzying heat of the kiss and he ends up slamming her against the wall.

“Can we – “

She nods enthusiastically. “Yeah.”

He lifts her up by her thighs and pushes into her again as she wraps her legs around him. He moves a little slower now, to start, letting himself kiss and be kissed for a few moments. Then she’s pulling his hair and digging her nails into his scalp, causing him to thrust into her harder. She locks her ankles and tightens her thighs around him and he picks up the pace, unable to help himself.

“I have to – El…”

She’s not nearly as close as he is, so she simply acquiesces, raising her hips just slightly to give him permission. He buries his face in her shoulder as he finishes, bucking up into her, frenzied and disjointed until his thrusts begin to slow. He’s panting so hard, it’s comes out like desperate little cries. He pulls out painstakingly and, before the guilt sets in, he slips a hand between them to take care of her.

“Mm, no.” Her legs loosen around him and her feet fall to the ground. “Get me off on the bed, I can’t stand upright.”

With one surprisingly swift motion, given how hard he’s breathing, he carries her off to the bed and lays her down. He crawls beside her, dropping his head to kiss her chest as he slips a finger inside her, then focuses most of her energy on her clit. With several concentrated strokes, he has her crying out. She finds his other hand and squeezes it as she comes, her entire body shuddering along with her greatly relieved “ _Alec._ ”

Alec rolls off her, laying flat on the bed, his chest heaving. When she finally comes down, she turns to him with a flushed smile. But his chest is still heaving.

“Alec.”

“Yeah,” he barely manages to exhale.

She turns on her side and gently places her palm on his chest. “Love.”

“’m all right. Just…need a minute.”

She sits up with alarm. “No, you’re not, no you don’t.”

It seems to her that his face is turning a bit blue. He grabs onto her hand.

“Where are your pills?” He hasn’t needed them in so long.

“Bottom drawer.” He gestures in the direction of his nightstand.

She crawls over him, to his side, and rummages through the drawer until she finds them. She drops a pill into her hand and brings it to his mouth.

“Open.”

He does. She guides it into his mouth. He doesn’t need water at this point, but she grabs the half-empty glass on her nightstand and holds it to his lips until he drinks some. Then she sits anxiously on her knees next to him, waiting as his breathing gradually begins to slow, the colour in his face turning back to normal. She places her hand on his pacemaker scar and closes her eyes. He touches her wrist, eyes now boring into her.

“’m all right, El.”

She collapsed back on the bed, boneless, and lies in astonishment, staring at the ceiling. She feels tears pricking at her eyes but doesn’t want him to see them.

Laying side by side, his hand reaches for hers and their fingers tangle together naturally.

Neither one of them says a word.

*


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm heading to a writers' retreat in Colorado tomorrow, where I am NOT supposed to be writing fanfic...which means I probably will anyway. BUT, if you don't hear from me for over a week...I'm somewhere in the mountains trying to be a good playwright.

It takes a long while of sinking into silence, but eventually Ellie gets out of bed, albeit abruptly. Without a word, she slips into the ensuite and gets into the shower.

Alec lays as he has been. He’s grown weary at this point, his eyelids heavy and his focused breathing beginning to lull him to sleep.

When Ellie emerges again, now in her dressing gown, she is ignited again, mind racing, limbs restless.

“So here’s what needs to happen,” she says, announcing her return to him.

He blinks, then opens his eyes fully, pushing himself up against the headboard with a groggy groan.

“We’re calling your doctor first thing in the morning and I mean _first thing_ , the actual _second_ they open. They _will_ see you tomorrow at their earliest convenience and no later. No exceptions. If we have to sit in the waiting room and glare at the receptionist for hours on end, that is what we will do.”

Alec rubs his face. “All right.”

“But for now. Until we know what’s brought this on and what it means…we’ll not say a word to the kids. You’ll not go out on a single call and you do not interview a single suspect. I, by the way, will do all the driving for the foreseeable and you will not argue with me. And…” This time she hesitates, briefly looking down at her feet before meeting his gaze. “I don’t think you ought to hold Aila if no one else is around.”

Alec scowls, sitting up straight. “Ellie, no.”

“No, I’m sorry, think about it. If you go down, you can’t risk taking her with you. Can you _imagine_.”

He’s quiet for a moment.

“No.” He sighs sadly. “Fine.”

“No coffee. No alcohol. Nothing spicy. And no running.”

“ _Ellie_.”

She holds up her hands. “I don’t want to hear it.” Then she folds her arms across her chest. “Now maybe once we see the doctor, he’ll say different and that’s fine, but until that time I don’t want there to be any arguments. I’m not taking _any_ risks, not one single risk, do you understand me?”

“…Yeah, all right.”

Ellie stares at him for a moment, her body still vibrating, still yet unsatisfied. “Drink that water.”

He blinks at her. “What?”

“On the side table, drink it.”

Defeated, he does.

“All of it.”

He finishes it. She gets into bed beside him and suddenly points at him warningly. “And _no_ funny business.”

Alec recoils from her in surprise as she turns away from him to switch off her bedside lamp.

She pulls up the covers. “Now get some sleep.”

His eyes are on her as she turns onto her side, away from him. He stares at the back of her head until his eyelids grow heavy again, and he finally drifts off.

*

The morning is chaotic as ever. Ellie spends most of her time monitoring Alec’s every move, and pulling a clingy and energetic Fred off of him at every turn. She lets him hold the baby, but only when he’s sitting down. Tom and Daisy are both mildly suspicious, but, in typical teenage fashion, are too wrapped up in their own personal dramas to give it much thought.

The worst part, to Alec’s mind, is she doesn’t let him kiss her. Barely allows him to touch her. She just keeps moving, busying herself with one inane task after another, until it’s finally time to leave the house.

Their last minute appointment with the doctor is at 10am, so she only has to intercept stressful missives at work for an hour or so. Alec finds himself at his desk with more or less nothing to do, which only raises his stress level, and his irritation. At 9:45, she ushers him hurriedly out of his office and to the car.

In the exam room, Ellie paces back and forth as they wait for the doctor. Alec takes off his jacket sits on the edge of the examination table.

“ _Ellie_ ,” he says, in the exasperated tone he’s been suppressing all morning.

She barely looks at him. “What?”

He simply sighs in response, then begins unbuttoning his shirt, in preparations for all the tests he knows well at this point.

Dr. Tucker knocks then steps into the room. He’s far too young and fit to be in cardiology, Ellie thinks. It’s just unfair.

Alec lays back on the table, halfway propped up. Ellie moves to his side and reaches for his hand, touching him for the first time since last night’s attack. She holds it tightly. And Alec is acutely aware that this is more for her own comfort than his.

“Looks like it’s been quite a while since you’ve experienced something like this,” Dr. Tucker notes, looking at Alec’s chart. “Over two years.”

Alec nods.

“What were you doing at the time of the attack?”

Both Alec and Ellie automatically open their mouths to answer, then quickly close them. Dr. Tucker raises an eyebrow. Ellie is well aware that Alec will never voice this answer aloud himself.

“We were, um. Having sex.”

“I see.”

“But we’d…well, it seems to have come on just when we’d finished. When he’d finished.” Alec looks at her incredulously. “And then we…continued a bit, it was some time before we realized. We thought it was just…” She falters.

“Just typical aftermath of an orgasm,” Dr. Tucker simply.

“…Yes.”

“Well. That’s inconvenient, isn’t it?” He says with a smile. “Now, was there anything…unusual about this occurrence? Were you doing anything differently than you might normally?”

“Uh.” Ellie tilts her head to the side, thinking back on last night. “It was somewhat…lively. Fairly, um…active. But not…I wouldn’t call it _unusual_ , no.”

“Okay.” Dr. Tucker is scribbling on the chart. “And how often would you say you have sex these days?”

Alec and Ellie look at each other a bit flummoxed. Ellie closes one eye as she thinks.

Alec clears his throat. “Hard to say. We have a new baby at home.”

“Roughly four times a week, I would wager,” Ellie says.

Dr. Tucker looks from Ellie to Alec and back again. “Really.”

She shrugs. “On average.”

“And that’s been typical for your relationship?” Tucker asks. “I mean, it hasn’t been a sudden _surge_ or anything, has it?”

“No, that’s about right,” Ellie replies easily. “Was probably a bit more a year ago. But we’re fairly steady on that front.”

Alec is teetering on the brink of amusement and embarrassment. But more than that, he is in awe of her, as he often is, and the way she’s able to navigate personal, intimate questions with such ease.

“All right. Any major work stressors at the moment?” He questions. “I recognize you have a fairly stressful job, Alec, but that’s par for the course for you. Any particularly intense cases? Larger workload?”

“He’s been promoted,” Ellie answers for him. “But truthfully it’s cut down his time in the field a bit, so to speak. Bit more…supervisory than before.” Finally she looks at him. “Wouldn’t you say, love?”

“Yeah, I s’pose.”

Dr. Tucker nods. “And what about in your personal life?”

“Well.” Ellie looks at Alec, who then looks at Dr. Tucker.

“We’re gettin’ married next Saturday,” he says. “But in all honesty I can’t say it’s been particularly stressful. My sister is handlin' most of the details and I’m largely just…along for the ride.”

Dr. Tucker seems briefly startled, having forgotten they weren’t married _already_.

“And it’s not as if it presents a significant life change,” Ellie adds. “We’ve been living together over a year and a half, with all the kids. We’re just adding a legal document into the mix is all.”

“Okay. And what about the baby? Have you been getting enough sleep?”

Alec smirks. “No less than I’ve ever gotten before.”

“She sleeps through the night, mostly,” Ellie says.

“All right.” Dr. Tucker puts the chart down. “We’ll do some tests. Results don’t take long with this sort so we should be able to sit down tomorrow and chat about what we find.”

*

When they return to CID following the appointment, Ellie goes straight to her office without a word to anyone and closes the door behind her. For a moment, she simply stands there, gazing around the room aimlessly. When the tears threaten her, she’s too far from her desk or her couch and thus finds herself lowering down onto the floor. Crouching on her knees at first, the tears stream down her cheeks and she’s startled by how quickly she struggles to breathe. Her knees hit the ground and she presses her fingers to her tear ducts, trying to control it.

Then there’s a knock on the door, followed by a genial, “Lady Di? You in there?”

It’s Hal. At some point, he saw fit to shorten DI to Di and thus her nickname of Lady Di was born. It makes her roll her eyes, but she far prefers it to _ma’am_.

“Just a minute!” She calls back with a sniffle.

After she scrambles to her feet a bit unsteadily, she opens the door, staying mostly behind it so no one else will see her. Hal steps inside and she closes it behind them, turning away to wipe away the moisture beneath her eyes.

“Toxicology report for you.” Hal holds up a manila folder, all the while trying to catch a glimpse of her face.

“Oh good, just leave it here then.” She gestures to her desk.

“Ellie?”

“I’m fine. Bit of a stressful morning is all.”

He nods. “Baby not sleeping?” He knows well it’s not been a stressful morning at the office. Yet.

Ellie sniffs and shakes her head. “You weren’t here at the time, but Alec’s had some health stuff in the past. Worried it may be back.”

“Sorry to hear it.” Hal frowns with concern. “Anything I can do?”

“No, ta.”

“You’ll call us though?” He says. “If you need a…meal, or a…babysitter or anything, you know Jenny and I would be happy to – “

“I appreciate it, thank you.”

“Right.” He hovers awkwardly at the door. “Keep this closed then?”

She nods. He sees himself out, closing the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, Ellie stands in the doorway of Alec’s office with her coat and her bag.

“I’m taking a…personal day,” she announces. “Donald and Katie have things covered, barring any emergencies.”

Alec’s brows are furrowed and he stands. “Feelin’ all right?”

She takes a step backward. “Just need to clear my head a bit. I’ll send Molly home, take Aila for a walk, run some errands. Surprise Fred at pick up. See you later, yeah?”

He can only nod, a hand on his hip, a frown on his face, quite confounded.

*

The all too familiar sounds of _Peppa Pig_ greet Alec when he walks in the front door around 6pm. Then there’s the hushed voices of two teenagers in the dining room. Jade and Daisy, hopefully doing school work. In the living room, Ellie is seated on the couch with the two little ones while the light of the telly dances across her face. Aila is laying on Ellie’s chest, head between her breasts, staring off. Fred is snuggled into her, watching the telly with rapt attention. It’s quite sweet in fact, and Alec wishes he had his mobile handy to snap a photo.

“Hi, Alec,” Fred says, without taking his eyes off the screen.

That’s when Ellie looks up and notices him.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey.”

He takes a few steps closer and leans down a bit to look at Aila. Unlike most babies who whine and cry when they get tired, Aila has a tendency to simply…slow down and stare off. She’s quite contented just laying atop her mother’s chest, blinking every now and then. Alec catches her eye and she smiles, but otherwise she does not move.

“Knackered, is she,” Alec says.

“Mm-hmm.” Ellie is gently and absently rubbing her back. She seems to _need_ Aila there even more than Aila enjoys being there. She kisses the top of her head.

Alec reaches out his arms. “May I?”

“Like to hold on to her a bit longer if you don’t mind,” Ellie replies, turning to the television. “Plus she’s quite comfy as you can see.”

Under normal circumstances, Alec might have made a joke about how the best seat in the house is between Ellie’s breasts. But not tonight. Instead he places his hands on his hips and hones in on her.

“I’ve not seen her all day, you might remember. I'm not the one who took a personal day,” he tells her.

She glances over at him, a hard look in her eyes. “You can put her down when she’s ready. Why don’t you go heat up some leftovers for everyone, eh.”

He stares back at her. Then turns on his heel without a word. Within ten seconds, he’s back in the room, startling them all.

“What is it you think you’re accomplishin’ here? Shuttin’ me out, lookin’ at me like I’m a stranger in my own bloody house,” he complains.

Even Fred looks up, concerned by the change in Alec’s tone.

“One incident, one doctor’s appointment, and you’re…what? Cross at me for my own poor health? Tell me, why don’t you, what is it _I’ve_ done wrong here?”

Ellie is stone-faced. “Go to the kitchen. Now.”

He remains steadfast. “Not until you’ve – “

“ _Not_ in front of the kids. Go. Now.”

He hesitates, then leans back on his heels. “Goin’ for a walk.” Then storms off. In so much as Alec Hardy ever would.

*

He walks for longer than he could have guessed. He walks through dinner, through Fred’s bedtime, through Aila’s bedtime, through _Coronation Street_. He walks through that special time that belongs to him and Ellie, eight to ten, because he can’t face the reality that she might ignore him through it.

His lovely, warm Ellie has turned cold on him. He was relieved earlier to find she hadn’t turned cold on the kids, walking in to see the little ones snuggled up on the couch with her. But he’d been _jealous_ of them in that moment, he realizes later. It’s not been long but already _too_ long without her warmth.

Somehow he’s failed her simply by having a heart condition. As he walks, he curses himself for not taking better care of his health all those years ago, before he’d even met her. If he’d properly looked after his mental and physical health during and after Sandbrook, his life with Ellie now would not have this dark cloud looming over it from time to time. It’s too much for her, with everything. Busy job, four kids, a wedding. This is just one more thing to top her already full plate.

That said, it isn’t like her to respond this way to stress or even anger. She might snap at him, drag him a bit, pout for a while. But she always comes back to him quickly enough. He hasn’t seen her go cold like this since Joe’s trial, and even then…

When he returns home, it’s predictably quiet. He takes off his muddy shoes in the foyer, then goes straight to the kitchen to heat up some leftovers from himself, which he then eats alone at the table. Then he checks in on Daisy, now up in her room watching Netflix on her laptop. She seems content and mostly unaware of any strife under their roof. It seems Ellie told the kids he’d had to go back into work, when it was clear his walk was not going to be a short one.

Tom is hard at work on something on his laptop, typing furiously, and barely manages a sincere “goodnight” when Alec checks in on him. He’s not offended in the least. It’s nice to see the teenager focused and productive.

Fred is asleep on his back, blankets already totally kicked off, limbs everywhere. Alec replaces the blanket on top of him, tucking it in where he can in the hopes it will stay there.

The nursery, however, is empty. Dark and baby-free.

With slight apprehension, Alec moves to his bedroom, pushing open the slightly ajar door. Ellie is in bed, propped up against the headboard, with Aila on her chest exactly as she had been earlier in the evening. But this time she’s asleep. He can see the measured rise and fall of her chest from the doorway, Ellie’s hand resting still on her back.

Ellie looks up from her book with a pointed expression. “Oi, look what the cat dragged in.”

Alec sighs and silently begins stripping himself of his clothing.

“I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

He does not immediately respond. He dumps his clothes in the hamper by his closet and digs around his dresser for his pyjamas.

Finally he says, glancing briefly over his shoulder, “She should be in her crib.”

He doesn’t need to see her raised eyebrow to know it’s there. “Oh _should_ she?”

He simply sighs and pulls on a t-shirt.

“Bit needy today. Think I spoiled her by coming home early, now she won’t let me put her down,” Ellie explains reluctantly. “She’ll sleep with us tonight.”

“Fine.”

Alec goes to brush his teeth and by the time he re-emerges, she has put down her book and switched off her bedside lamp. As he crawls into bed beside her, he cannot fight the urge to kiss his daughter, even if makes Ellie flinch. She keeps her eyes closed, knowing that Alec is lying on his side, staring at Aila, fingers lightly brushing her face in reverence.

They fall asleep like that, without a word.

*

The morning is uncomfortable enough that he is certain the older kids are aware of the discord. Ellie drives them to work silently, where they wait for Dr. Tucker to call them in to discuss the results of the tests. Shortly after lunch, the call comes in, and Alec turns up at Ellie’s office door.

“Results are in.”

Silently, Ellie stands and grabs her coat. She follows him out.

*

“Everything’s come back normal.”

Alec can _feel_ the shift in Ellie’s body language, her exhale seems to be dispelling demons with it.

“We can’t pinpoint what might have brought on this latest attack, but there’s nothing in your results that indicates any kind of lasting problem or changes to be concerned with. Your pacemaker seems to be working just fine,” Dr. Tucker explains. “It seems to be, by all accounts, a fluke.”

“Oh, thank you,” Ellie says, breathing out.

Alec remains sitting up straight. “Is there anythin’ you might suggest I do to prevent it from happenin’ again?”

“Honestly, there isn’t. I suggest you continue as you were. On the off-chance it _does_ happen again, we’ll reevaluate, but until then I see no need to advise you to make any changes.”

*

The drive back to CID is, again, silent. But this time the air has shifted. Ellie is smiling faintly as she stares at the road. In the parking lot, as they unfasten their seatbelts, Alec’s “Ellie – “ is interrupted by the sight of several officers and detectives jogging toward their cars. Katie waves in their direction and they immediately jump out of the car and follow.

It’s a burglary on the high street and the case turns out to be fairly open and shut. The perpetrator is caught almost immediately. The result is simply that Alec is bogged down by paperwork most of the day. At 5:30, Ellie asks Hal for a ride home so that she can relieve Molly, since both Tom and Daisy are still at their after school activities.

He drives himself home an hour later. Fred is at the dining room table working on his lego Millenium Falcon. Alec kisses the top of the boy’s head just as Ellie walks in from the kitchen. She’s changed out of her work clothes, into leggings and one of his flannel shirts. He’s not especially partial to flannel, ironically enough, but Ellie made him buy some for the winter months, and mostly she wears them instead. This particular one comes down to her thighs and he will admit looks much better on her.

She has Aila on her hip and a smile on her face. “Look, bug, Daddy’s home.”

Alec is a bit apprehensive, but she walks toward him and leans the baby in his direction. “Go on and see Daddy.” He takes Aila from her happily and holds her possessively.

“Mumma, there’s no more grey legos!” Fred exclaims.

“Look under the table,” Ellie whispers with a wink.

Fred looks down. “Oh.” Then he crawls off the chair and under the table, picking up all the legos that have fallen.

“I’ve got Korean barbecue coming,” Ellie says. “Should be here in ten or so.”

Then she sits down in the chair besides Fred to help him with his project. Tom and Daisy burst through the front door, as they can’t seem to enter the house any other way, with Erin trailing behind them.

“Mum, can Erin stay for dinner?” Tom calls out.

“’Course, there should be plenty,” she replies as they appear in the hall. “Hi, Erin.”

And after that it’s a whirlwind of nonstop jabbering, a full house bustling with energy and chaos.

The teenagers, for once, seem unopposed to the company of their parents and after dinner they all end up diving into several board games in the living room. Fred is working very hard on not being a sore loser these days – or rather, Fred’s family is working very hard to train him not to be a sore loser. But with Erin around, he’s more or less on his best behavior. They have to send Erin home before he’ll agree to go to bed, as he refuses to miss out on anything exciting. When Alec and Ellie bring Aila and Fred upstairs, Tom and Daisy quickly turn on the X-box.

Ellie has already finished with Aila by the time Alec closes Fred’s bedroom door. He finds her just down the hall in their own bedroom, standing awkwardly near the foot of the bed. This is the first moment they’ve had alone together since getting the results of the tests and all at once Alec finds himself feeling a bit apprehensive.

She looks up when he enters and though she tries to keep her expression neutral, her face lights up at the sight of him. He closes the door behind him.

“Hi,” she says quietly.

“…Hi.”

She looks squarely at him, then puts her hands on her hips and looks down at the floor. “I’m a shit fiancee.”

He stays where he is, watching her. “You’re not a shit fiancee,” he replies gently.

Then she looks up, eyes shining with tears. “Yes I am, I’ve bollocksed it all up.”

He slowly shakes his head.

“I am so sorry.” She sniffs and rubs her eyes. “I don’t know what I – christ, I was terrified, it was so – when we were in bed and you couldn’t breathe – you nearly turned bloody _blue_ , Alec. I started to feel like our whole life together was sand and I couldn’t pick it up, it just kept sliding through my fingers and every time I _looked_ at you I would suddenly get flashes of what my life would be like _without_ you and then it was like _I_ couldn’t breathe. I thought of all the ways I take you for granted, take your health for granted – I _knew_ we were having too much bloody sex, by the way – “

A short laugh escapes him as he listens. “ _Ellie_.”

“And I just felt things start to crumble. I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it. I wasn’t…prepared. I’m sorry.” He watches her face crinkle up as a tear falls. “I love you and I’m so sorry.”

He takes a step toward her and she holds up a hand to stop him.

“Just slap me across the face if I ever do anything like this again. Just…shake me until I come back to my senses, all right?” She demands. “Just one single stupid day of not being close to you and I was right sodding _miserable_. It’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve even _touched_ you,” she says, a sob escaping her.

He waits, desperate to go to her, but determined to let her do and say what she needs to first. His arms hang limply at his sides, his heart feels like it’s trying to leap out of his chest to reach her.

Ellie takes a deep breath, wiping the moisture from her eyes. Then she begins deftly unbuttoning the flannel shirt she’s wearing, a bit shyly, but now the color’s come back to her face and he recognizes her much more clearly.

She reaches the bottom and the sides of the shirt begin to fall apart. She’s not wearing a bra. She must have foregone it when she’d changed out of her work clothes, needing to nurse the baby anyway. He’d suspected throughout the evening, but had been trying not to stare at her tits in front of the kids. No easy task, of course.

She closes most of the gap between them and reaches for his hand. She places it first just beneath her throat, at her collarbone, and exhales with relief. Then she closes her eyes and slowly slides it down her chest, to her own heart. Her breath catches in her throat this time.

Alec leans into her, kissing the side of her mouth, her cheek, her jaw. “Not goin’ anywhere, El,” he whispers. He rubs his thumb gently over her warm skin.

“I love you so much.” She leans her forehead to his.

He smiles. “Goin’ soft on me.”

She snorts, dropping her head to his shoulder. He brings his hands to her waist and pulls her close, then travels his hands up and down her bare back underneath her shirt, reveling in her warmth again. Ellie kisses his neck, then his throat, unbuttoning his shirt all the while. Her hand finds his pacemaker scar before her lips do. He holds her tightly as she kisses it, lips lingering in place.

“Stupid, lovely heart,” she whispers.

She places her hand back on his scar, and then with the other, she places his hand on her heart.

“Good heart. Bad fiancee.”

With his free hand, he pushes her hair out of her face. “Oh can’t we just say _wife_?”

Ellie smiles. “Good heart. Bad wife.”

Returning the smile, he leans down and kisses her softly. “Like the sound of that. Bad or not.”

Ellie shimmies out of her shirt altogether, then helps Alec do the same with his. They step together, wrapped in each other’s arms, both naked from the waist up.

“Were you scared?” She asks quietly, looking up at him.

Alec hesitates, then nods. “I’d like to at least make it to our weddin’.”

“Oh, hush.” She drops her forehead to his chest and he kisses her hair. “If I have to marry you in a bloody hospital bed, that’s what I’ll do.”

He drags the back of his hand from her neck down between her breasts, watching its slow trajectory. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? After all our brave declarations about never gettin’ married.”

“We should have known,” she replies, grinning up at him. “The lady _and_ the gentleman doth protest too much, methinks.”

“Quite good at that, aren’t we?”

She reaches for the back of his head and guides him down to her. “Quite.” Then she kisses him, soft and slow, unhurried.

In bed, they are unusually gentle with each other. It’s all kisses and caresses and pausing to admire. She’s so warm and smoothe it makes him dizzy. As he moves over her, she keeps both palms flat on his chest, both to feel his heartbeat and modulate his movements. Instead of burying his face in her neck the way he often does, overcome, his gaze remains steadily locked with hers, and even as she stretches like a cat beneath him, he does not look away. He comes first, wildly aroused by every little sound she makes, the way her eye twitches when he pushes deeper and hits just the right spot. When he collapses on her, their tongues intertwine for a few lazy, grateful kisses before he slithers down her body and between her legs. He guides one leg over his shoulder and pushes her other thigh to the side before putting his tongue to work. She knocks over both the book and the glass of water on her beside table when she comes and he smiles into her thigh before biting into it for good measure when she’s through.

Alec pulls the duvet up around them then gathers her in his arms. She lays an ear to his heart.

“How do you feel?” Ellie questions, a bit timidly.

“I feel like a post-coital man who just gave the woman he loves a shatterin’ orgasm,” he replies wryly. “Never better.”

She sighs contentedly and snuggles into him. “Sorry I’m such an ungrateful cunt.”

“Sorry I’m such a grumpy old wanker.”

She raises her head to look at him. “Did we just write our vows?”

*


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look here I am writing fic on a playwriting retreat again, who's surprised, show of hands.

On Thursday morning, Alec wakes up before their alarm goes off. He glances at his mobile, takes a deep breath, then lays back down. After a few moments of staring blearily at the ceiling, a smile spreads across his face.

He turns his head to look over at Ellie. She’s on her stomach, head turned to face him, mouth slightly open. She’d worn a thin-strapped silk nightgown to bed the night before, because everything else was either dirty or packed. He’d had a hard time refraining from jumping her, but they’d agreed that they were better off getting as much sleep as possible.

His smile widening, he turns onto his side to face her and reaches out to stroke her hair, always half-covering her face as she sleeps. She twitches ever so slightly, but does not wake. He drags his fingertip down the bridge of her nose to the tip.

“Ellie,” he says quietly.

“Mm.” She stirs.

“El,” he whispers again, before lightly kissing her cheek.

Her eyelids flutter open. With a satisfied groan, she stretches, then settles onto her side. “Morning.”

He goes back to stroking her hair. “Happy wedding weekend.”

She grins and slings her arm around his middle. “Happy wedding weekend.”

At once, they pull each other close and share a soft, lingering kiss.

“Did I sleep through the alarm?” Ellie asks.

“Still fifteen minutes to go.”

“You’re like a kid at Christmas,” she observes wryly, running her fingers over his lips. “It’s going to be utterly chaotic, you realize.”

“I do.” He plants a kiss just underneath her eye.

“Ha.”

He plants another on her temple. She pulls him a little closer until their bodies are flush together as god intended.

“How are those vows coming?” She asks with one eyebrow quirked.

“Brilliant.” He looks back at her cockily. “Yours?”

“Outstanding.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

She tucks her head underneath his chin and tightens her arms around him. “You know we can really go the traditional route if you – “

“Absolutely not,” Alec replies firmly.

She grins to herself, knowing he can’t see her. “Okay then.”

His hands begin to roam her body aimlessly. “This bloody silk thing, I swear to christ.”

“You like this, wait ‘til you see what I’ve got for our wedding night.”

His hands stop moving. She can feel his heart rate pick up just slightly. “…Yeah?”

She kisses his throat. “Yeah.”

He slides a hand up her thigh. “I _knew_ gettin’ married was a good idea.”

She chuckles. “Mm-hmm.” Then she raises her head suddenly to look at him. “You did pack with Fred last night, didn’t you?”

“Aye. Insisted upon bringin’ _only_ Star Wars-themed clothin' with him,” he answers. “Except for the tux of course.”

“He’s not met most of the Scottish contingent, you realize. Going to be a bit overwhelming for him,” she says.

“You jokin’? All that attention, he’ll love it.”

“As long as all the attention doesn’t go solely to the baby…” Ellie warns.

“Mm. Yes. That _is_ goin’ to be tricky,” he agrees.

“We’ll have to encourage them to be somewhat…balanced with their affections.”

“Ah, Fred’s a charmer. And loads more fun than a six-month-old,” Alec reminds her. “Once they get used to Aila’s, ahem, _adorability_ , they’ll scoop Fred right up into their chaos and have a smashin’ time.”

She nods, then lays her head on his chest, absently playing with his chest hair. “Aila’s adorability is not something most people get used to. You must admit she is an uncommonly attractive child.”

Alec snorts. “Perks of bein’ your daughter.”

Ellie grins up at him, taking his face in her hands. “After we’re married, will you still say things like that to me or do you think it’ll all go to shit?”

“Soon as we’re married, it’s separate beds and scheduled sex ‘til one of us dies.”

“Ah, just as I’d hoped.” She kisses him. “S’pose we ought to get moving. Drag those teenagers out of bed.”

Alec sighs. “You want the teenagers or the little ones?”

Ellie pretends to think about it. “I’ll take the little ones, you take the teenagers.”

“You always take the little ones.”

“Then why did you _ask_?”

He frowns, then kisses her. “Love you.”

She kisses him back. “Love _you_.”

They throw off the duvet and crawl out of bed.

*

The rest of the morning is a whirlwind of gargantuan proportions. It’s their first time traveling any real distance with Aila in tow, and the combination of Aila and Fred proves to be truly chaotic. It had been decided, after _much_ careful, considered discussion, that the teenagers would drive themselves in Alec’s car, with Jade and Erin, while Alec and Ellie would take Ellie’s car with the little ones. It’s somewhat amazing to them how Daisy and Jade and Tom and Erin have become the world’s most unlikely couple friends. Regardless, they are to check in every hour on the hour with an exact location.

Though they got an early start, they leave later than anticipated, of course. Fred is quickly set up with an iPad and headphones in the hopes he’ll leave Aila alone enough that she can sleep through much of the drive. Though Aila is certainly prone to falling asleep in the car, in recent weeks she’s become irritated with the situation because her car seat faces _away_ from her parents and she cannot see them. She’s fussy for the first twenty minutes of the eight hour drive, until Ellie, from the passenger’s seat, reaches her hand back. Aila grabs onto her finger and doesn’t let go.

From her awkward position, Ellie looks over at Alec. “This is going to be me for the next eight hours, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

They turn on a podcast, and the dulcet tones of the hosts eventually put Aila to sleep, allowing Ellie to pull her hand back and sit more comfortably.

After an hour, Fred announces, far too loudly for he forgets to take his headphones off, “NEED A WEE.”

Ellie looks back. “No you don’t, you _just_ went before we left the house and you’ve not had a thing to drink since.”

“I have to go!”

She squares in on him. “ _Do_ you though. _Really_?”

Fred thinks about it, shifting a bit in his seat. Then he shrugs. “No.” He turns back to the iPad.

An hour later, Aila wakes up crying.

“Shh, shh, it’s all right, love.” Ellie reaches her hand back again and Aila grabs it.

“BE QUIET, AILIE,” Fred shouts.

Ellie lightly whacks Fred’s knee with her other hand. “Enough out of you.”

Aila continues to fuss, then brings Ellie’s hand to her mouth and sucks on it.

“She’s really bloody teething, isn’t she?” Ellie looks at Alec with distress. “On our wedding weekend.”

He grimaces. “This is what we get for doin’ things in the wrong order.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you, you knock me up, _then_ you propose,” Ellie complains. “Wanker.”

Another hour later, Fred _really_ has to go. They acquiesce and stop at the nearest petrol station.

“You take Fred, I’ll take Aila and change her,” Ellie says, and they divide and conquer.

Fred manages to walk out of the station with enough chocolate to keep him awake for two days. Ellie shoots Alec a pointed glare as she fastens Aila back into her car seat.

Within forty-five minutes, Aila starts fussing at the same time Ellie starts leaking. She looks over at Alec with puppy dog eyes until she gets his attention. Then she glances down. His eyes follow hers.

“I’ll pull over.”

Fred seems to not even notice that they’ve stopped, as Ellie sits in the passenger seat nursing Aila on the side of the road. Aila lightly slaps Ellie’s breast happily as she eats, thrilled to not only be eating but to be held and have her parents’ attention again.

“Isn’t it so thrilling that only forty-eight hours from now you get to marry such a glamorous woman?”

He leans back in his seat, stretching out as much as he can. “I’ll have you milk stains and all.”

And then, suddenly, “MUMMA THE CAR STOPPED.”

Ellie chuckles quietly and leans her head back. “Yes, little love, thank you.”

Fred goes back to his iPad. She turns to Alec. “Have you tired of driving yet?”

“Nah. Still makin’ up for all those times I made you my chauffeur.”

“Bloody well right.”

He grabs onto Aila’s foot and strokes it with his thumb. The baby tips her head back, trying to see him, and says, “Bababababa.”

Ellie maneuvers her over to the other breast. “Eat up, little bug, we’ve got another three hours to go yet.”

An hour outside of Glasgow, Tom texts them that they’ve arrived at the house.

“Bloody hell, how fast were they drivin’?” Alec exclaims, in horror.

“Well, they probably didn’t make a hundred stops for breast-feeding and six-year-old false alarms.”

“…Right.”

Ellie starts typing. “They’re complaining that they can’t get in.”

“Well fuck’s sake tell them to get off their lazy arses and explore a bit ‘til we get there,” Alec replies irritably.

She turns briefly to smirk at him, one eyebrow raised. “Drive’s getting to you, isn’t it.”

“Maybe a bit.”

When the second caravan of Hardy-Millers finally arrives at Alec’s now-empty family home, the teenagers are sitting on the front porch.

Alec gets out of the car and slams the door shut. “Did you even take a bloody walk around the neighborhood?”

They just stare at him. He removes Aila’s carrier from its car seat as Ellie ushers Fred out of the car with all his bits and bobs.

“Come on then, give us a hand with the bags, will you?”

For Ellie, it seems an odd thing to be back in the house she associates with boisterous Hardys only to find it quiet and empty. When last it was populated by Alec’s extended family, it is now _their_ immediate family that is in residence.

They drop their luggage in the foyer and the kids immediately scatter. Alec protests, calling them back, insisting upon giving them a proper tour, and they reluctantly oblige him.

“I’m gonna nurse the baby, you go on,” Ellie says, extricating Aila from her carrier.

She deposits herself on the couch in the front door, absorbing the house and all the little sounds it makes, as she feeds Aila. From far off, she can hear Alec boring them with details they care nothing about. Eventually he reminds them that their sleeping arrangements have already been decided upon and there will be no negotiating, so they needn’t get _too_ excited.

Daisy, Jade, and Erin are to sleep in the attic, in separate twin beds, while Tom and Fred are to share a room with twin beds on the second floor, much to Tom’s chagrin. When Ellie’s father arrives tomorrow, he’ll have Alec’s old room, while Lucy will have the finished basement to herself. Alec and Ellie are in the master bedroom, which has a vast walk-in closet and will serve as Aila’s room.

The kids all take their bags upstairs to unpack. Alec deposits his, Ellie’s, and Aila’s and then joins them on the couch just as Aila finishes eating. Ellie hands her over to Alec and fixes herself.

“How’s it feel?” She asks. “Having all your children in your _ancestral_ home.”

“Feels a bit weird to have it to ourselves all weekend, if I’m bein’ honest,” he replies, settling the baby on his lap.

“Was thinking the same.” She turns to him and tucks her feet up underneath her after kicking off her shoes. “Are you exhausted?” She brushes his hair back soothingly. “We should put in a takeaway order for supper, no way we’re going back out today. Not with the whole brood.”

“I all but guarantee you Greer will pop by any minute with a lasagna or somethin’ the like,” Alec tells her. “An excuse to see the baby, of course.”

“So popular, little bug,” Ellie says, kissing both Aila’s cheeks, causing her to smile.

“We’ve only got to relax tonight, yeah?” He asks weakly. “Nothin’ on the agenda?”

She smiles, stroking his bearded cheek with the back of her hand. “Nothing on the agenda.”

“Good.” He kisses her.

Then she smirks. “I know how much you like relaxing.”

His relieved expression turns to a scowl. “Oh, shut up.”

*

Greer _does_ appear with a lasagna and immediately swaps it for the baby. It becomes a casual evening of face-stuffing, grazing, and board game-playing, with everyone gathered in the living room. A few games in, Ellie excuses herself to pump, and then opens a bottle of a wine, handing a glass out to Alec and Greer as well. The teenagers complain loudly, insisting that three of them are of age and ought to be allowed to partake.

“That’s _all_ we need,” is Ellie’s only response.

After a rousing game of Cluedo, which Alec wins, Fred snuggles up to Ellie on the floor and asks, “What is the point of getting married?”

The teenagers immediately take their leave to go play X-box in the attic.

“What do you mean, love?” Ellie replies.

“Will it be different? After you get married?”

“Not at all, lad,” Alec assures him, handing the baby off to Greer. “Everythin’ will be exactly as it has been.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

“Well,” Ellie exhales. “Because it means something to _us_ , to Alec and me. And it’s a way for us to celebrate our relationship, our family.”

“And you like parties,” Fred reminds her happily.

“And I like parties,” she agrees.

Fred looks up at Alec, sitting on the sofa behind them, and crawls up to him. “Will it make me a Hardy?”

Alec throws an arm over his shoulders and pulls him in close. “D’you want to be?”

Fred glances down at Ellie. “Is Tom going to?”

Ellie rubs his leg. “Tom hasn’t decided yet, lovely.”

“And the good news,” Alec adds. “Is that you can decide any time you want to, lad. Today, tomorrow, a year from now. You can become a Hardy any time you like, or not at all.”

“Either way we’ll all be one family, the six of us,” Ellie tells him.

Fred nods thoughtfully at his mother. “But you’ll be a Hardy. Right?”

“I will be, sweet love, yes.”

“And Daisy and Aila are Hardys.”

“That’s right.”

Fred leans into Alec and yawns. Then says, “I’ll do what Tom does.”

“Okay,” Ellie replies gently. “You ready for bed then?”

Fred nods, powerless over his yawning. Ellie stands, then bends over to gather him in her arms. He lays his head on her shoulder.

“You’re not allowed to get any bigger than this,” she says sternly. “Any bigger and I won’t be able to carry you anymore.”

Fred yawns again. “’m gonna get bigger and bigger and BIGGER.”

“Night, Freddie,” Greer says.

“Night, mate,” Alec adds.

“G’night.”

Now alone, but for Aila, the Hardy siblings each take a sip of their wine.

“Amazin’,” Greer observes. “The life you lead now.”

Sitting in Greer’s lap, Aila looks up at her curiously, holding her necklace in her mouth.

“I’ll never get over the eyes on this one,” she notes with a shake of her head.

“I know it,” Alec agrees. “She’s all eyes.”

“Hardly room for the rest of her face.”

Aila begins lightly slapping Greer’s wrist.

“She protests,” Greer says with a laugh.

“Those are her wee love taps, we call ‘em,” Alec explains. “Means she’s happy.”

Greer smiles, doing her level best not to get teary-eyed hearing him speak like this. “From the moment I first saw you with Ellie, I knew you two would make an utterly brilliant baby together.”

Alec quirks his brow, taking a sip. “How could you tell?”

“The cutest babies come from the people who are the most in love.”

“Ha.” He takes another sip. “Bit soppy there.”

“Yayayayayaya,” Aila says.

“See? She knows.” Greer kisses her head. “Still can’t believe your old rottin’ carcass has a bloody baby though.”

“Thank you very much.”

Aila holds both of her arms out to Alec.

“Come here, darlin’.” He picks her up and holds her. She immediately sticks her fingers in his mouth.

Greer bursts out laughing. “Oh, it’s too much.” She fishes out her mobile and snaps a picture as Alec frowns.

*

“Have we made a mistake lettin' Daisy and Jade sleep in the same room?”

Having just finished cleaning his teeth, Alec steps into the bedroom from the ensuite, pausing in the doorway.

“How much damage can they do with Erin in there?” Ellie counters, sitting up in bed.

He sits on the edge of the mattress. “When are your dad and Lucy gettin’ in tomorrow?”

“Mid afternoon, I suspect,” she answers. “Luce will set them back at least an hour, she’s always late.”

“ _Your_ Lucy? Nah, don’t believe it.” He lifts the covers and slips in underneath them. “Silk nightgown again?”

She shrugs. “Top of the suitcase.”

Alec slithers in closer to her, arm draping over her stomach, planting kisses on her upper arm and shoulder.

“We’ve a very busy day tomorrow and we’re both properly knackered as it is,” Ellie reminds him.

“You’re the one in the silk bloody nightgown.” He moves to kiss her chest and along the tops of her breasts. “You wouldn’t allow a shag last night and you’ve been very clear that there will be no shaggin’ tomorrow night, give your besotted fiance a break, woman.”

She smiles. “Are you _besotted_?

He runs a hand up the inside of her thigh. “Utterly.”

She breathes in sharply when he strokes between her legs. “…Quietly though, if we learned anything last time, it’s these walls are _thin_.”

Without hesitation, he rids himself of his briefs, then hikes up her nightgown and yanks down her knickers before tosses them away. Moving over her, he arranges her arms above her head then slides his hands up and down them before clasping them to her hands and pinning her down. He grinds between her legs as his hardness grows, running his tongue over her lips. A grin forms on her face and it lights her up entirely. He finally kisses her, tongue plunging in and going deep. She raises herself into the kiss, moaning softly, then finally pulls away to breathe. He kisses her cheek then sucks on her earlobe, as she pulls one hand after from his to help guide him inside her. He aides her with a light push and they both gasp, then smile at each other.

Alec smoothes her hair away then kisses her, softly, over and over. “I love you,” he whispers.

She can’t find the breath to respond when he starts thrusting slowly inside her, gaze locked with hers, and keeps kissing her.

“God, I love you,” he continues.

Ellie arches her back, tipping her head backwards and giving him better access to the breast he’s been fondling with one hand. He licks her nipple through silk of her nightgown, then pushes it down to release her breast and swiftly takes it into his mouth. His tongue swirls around her nipple, then he is moved to suck thanks to her moans of approval. When her fingers get tangled up in his hair, he _knows_ he’s doing something very right.

“Alec…” She arches higher, pushing her breast further into his mouth and he’s happy to take in as much as he can. At the same time, he twists his hips and pushes in a little deeper. “Oh, fuck, Alec.”

Hearing his name like that causes him to thrust a little quicker, then he starts to raise his head, flicking her nipple with his tongue one last time before releasing it and looking at her face.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says hoarsely as he moves to free her other breast, kissing it all over.

“You’re so _good_ ,” she groans.

At that, he bites into the underside of her breast then begins sucking a mark into it in earnest. At the first sign of serious heavy breathing, she lightly touches his pacemaker scar with her fingertips.

“All right?” She’s been fairly gentle with him for the last week, often insisting upon being on top herself.

Having sufficiently marked her, he raises his head. “Shhh,” he whispers, bringing his lips to hers.

After kissing the question out of her mind, he sits up a bit, grabbing onto her thighs and working at a deeper angle. Then he reaches down to rub her clit and she writhes helplessly beneath him. When she feels herself getting close, she reaches for him.

“Come back down to me,” she demands breathlessly.

He obeys, draping himself atop her again with a kiss to her lips. Her arms circle around him, nails digging into his back. She’s quickly starting to unravel in his arms and he buries his face in her neck in preparation. With a few rough thrusts, she cries out, a bit too loudly, and he comes in the midst of her ecstatic exclamations.

As she modulates her breathing again, her fingers thread through his hair, holding him to her.

“Fuck, Ellie,” he murmurs into her neck, still slowly thrusting through the aftershocks.

She kisses his ear, the only part of him her lips can reach. “There’s something raw about you here. Something more alive.”

“Where,” he responds drowsily, turning his head to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss to her throat.

“Here. In Scotland,” she replies. “I think you…let go a bit.”

“With you,” Alec amends, lifting his head to look at her after kissing her cheek. “I let go _with you_.”

“No, it’s different,” she insists, albeit gently. “Your love becomes sort of…lawless.”

He blinks at her, puzzled. “Dunno what that means.”

“I don’t either, really. But you seem happy.”

He props himself up with both hands. “’Cause I’m marryin’ _you_ in roughly thirty-six hours. After all this time.”

She smiles, studying his expression. “All what time.” Of course, she knows the answer.

“Been in love with you nearly five years,” he replies gruffly. “That’s a long time to not be legally bound to the love of your life.”

Ellie’s smile widens. “Are you going to say that on Saturday?”

He grants her a smirk, then kisses her softly. “You’ll not know ‘til Saturday, will you.”

“Make sure you throw in how much you loathed me at first.”

Alec moves off of her, but doesn’t go far, nuzzling her chest and her shoulder.

“And how you _left_ for two years.”

“ _Ellie_.” He bites into her shoulder.

“ _Ow_.”

Then there’s a knock on the door, followed by Fred’s tiny, sleepy voice. “Mumma Alec?”

“Yeah, lad!” Alec calls back.

There’s a slight pause. They both turn their heads toward the door in anticipation.

“I love you.”

Ellie covers her face with her hands and Alec drops his face onto the pillow.

“We love you too, sweetheart, so much,” she calls back. “Go back to bed now, all right?”

“…Okay.”

They hear his little footsteps trudge down the hall, then look at each other, hearts melted but vaguely alarmed.

“…Is he sleep-walkin’ now, d’you think?” Alec questions.

“Dunno.” Ellie switches off the lamp on her nightstand and then clings to him. “Our sweet boy.”

Alec smiles. “Our sweet boy.”

She kisses his chest then snuggles into him. “Night, love.”

His response is simply to hold her tighter.

*


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have definitely written more fic than I have play on this retreat so I truly and sincerely hope you are all enjoying this because my agent is NOT. 
> 
> <3
> 
> Also, I would potentially recommend skimming back over "Lowlands" to reacquaint yourselves with the Hardy clan. Not essential, of course, but I certainly had to!

The next day, around mid-afternoon, Ellie finds herself in the basement unpacking with Lucy. Or rather, unpacking _for_ Lucy.

“How did the dress survive the drive?”

“Fairly well, I think,” Ellie replies, hanging up Lucy’s own dress. “Hard to get a good look at it, Alec always seems to be around.”

“That’s the thing about husbands, isn’t it,” Lucy quips.

“Christ.” Ellie turns to her, hands on her hips. “Truly never thought I’d have a _husband_ again.”

Her sister shrugs dismissively. “You never thought a lot of things.” Then she flops down on the bed. “Dad was ruddy _insufferable_ on the drive up. Chatterin’ on about nonsense for eight hours straight, he had something to say about _literally_ everything we passed. I forgot how impossible he is on road trips.”

“Like that trip to Southend-on-Sea we took in sixth form.”

“Ye gods, don’t remind me,” Lucy groans. “Mum had the patience of an ever-loving _saint_ , she did.”

Ellie shoves the rest of Lucy’s clothes into a drawer. “She’d have liked Alec, I think.”

“She’d have liked _Aila_ , certainly. And possibly Alec by association.” Lucy sits up. “Finish them vows yet?”

Ellie leans back on the dresser. “Mostly. Saving the end for tomorrow.”

“Uh. Why?”

“Want it to be fresh, you know, of the moment.”

“You are not going to improvise this, you’re a _terrible_ improviser,” Lucy protests.

“Not improvising! And sod you very much, I’m just waiting until before the ceremony to finish it off,” Ellie explains.

“Procrastinating.”

“ _No_.”

“Ellie, you’re going to be off your bloody head tomorrow,” Lucy reminds her firmly. “Don’t you remember what getting married is like? You’d show up to the church in your skivvies if you didn’t have people around you to ensure otherwise.”

“Well that’s the _first_ time,” Ellie replies, sitting on the edge of the bed. “The first time you don’t know what to expect. And you’re terrified. I haven’t got a single qualm about tomorrow. Far as I’m concerned, it’s just a celebration. Just a day to have fun and be grateful for the things I have now. Maybe get a little pissed and eat a hundred kebabs in the process.”

Lucy shakes her head slowly. “You say that now. You’re both going to bloody _cry_ , El.”

“Oh, no we’re not,” Ellie scoffs.

“During your vows, oh yes you are.”

“No.” She waves it off. “Alec will be concentrating so sodding hard on reading what he wrote down that he won’t have a chance for the emotion to seep in. And I don’t like to cry in public, so.”

“You’re kidding yourself, El.” Lucy is looking at her like she’s dyed her hair orange. “You're breastfeeding which means you’re still hormonal as _hell_ , this is not going to go like you think.”

*

Upstairs in the kitchen, Alec and his adult nephew Archie are sitting in the kitchen.

“Did you get it?”

Archie pats his pocket. “Got it right here. Though I will say the jeweler looked at me with _incredible_ disdain.” He pulls a ring box out and sets it on the table. “Not quite sure this is what Gran would have wanted with her ring.”

“My mother would have adored Ellie,” Alec tells him. “And I think she would have supported anythin’ that would have made her happy.”

Archie shrugs. “Keep tellin’ yourself that.”

Alec inspects the ring. It’s a simple gold wedding band, but the inside has been painted a bright orange. He smiles.

“Excellent work, Arch.”

Archie sits back in his chair and crosses his legs. “How come you never asked to give the ring to Tess?”

“Ah.” Alec opens the fridge and pulls out a beer, popping it open. Archie is the only member of the family who doesn’t drink, so he is not offered one. “Dunno exactly. Don’t remember ever considerin’ it.”

“Bit tellin', if you don’t mind my sayin’.”

He leans back against the counter and takes a sip. “Yeah. S’pose it was.”

“She comin’ to the weddin’?”

Alec frowns. “Who?”

“Tess.”

“Oh. Yeah. Bringin’ a date, apparently,” Alec replies. “Ellie is just thrummin’ with anticipation.”

Archie smiles slyly. “Lookin’ forward to it. And the vows are comin’ along?”

“Done. Been done, actually. A while now.” He smiles as he takes a sip. “Ellie thinks I’m strugglin’. Keeps askin’ after ‘em. _She’s_ the one sneakin’ off to write hers any time she thinks I’m not payin’ attention.”

“You’re always payin’ attention.”

Alec nods. “I _know_.”

“That’s kind of your thing.”

“Precisely.” He chuckles. “Ellie has to delude herself about that or else she’d go mad.”

Archie glances outside the kitchen window, where Greer is in the garden with all the kids, and is holding Aila.

“Mum’s never gonna let go of that baby, you know.”

Alec chuckles, glancing out as well. “Eventually she’ll need to eat and _that_ Greer can’t help with.”

“Speaking of which,” Archie says. “Bit weird we all have to go to this rehearsal dinner when we’re not even _in_ the weddin’.”

“You’ll have to talk to your mum about that one,” Alec replies. “Insists that it’s ‘what one does.’ A ‘intimate’ dinner with family the night before the weddin’. Regardless. Be glad you don’t have to attend the actual rehearsal. It’ll just be thirty minutes of child-wranglin’. Fred’s been practicin’ his walk for two weeks.”

“I think it’s sweet your kids are your whole weddin’ party.”

Alec nods. “Well, we wanted the day to be as much for them as for us. And it was easier than tryin’ to figure out who else in our lives to put in the weddin’ party, frankly. This way no one’s put out by the whole thing.”

Archie tries to conceal his smile. “Mum secretly wanted to be your Best Woman.”

Alec stares at him.

“Don’t tell her I told you, she’ll have me whipped.”

“Archie, you’re thirty-five.”

“Still.”

*

Ellie hates wedding rehearsals. She understands the need for them, of course, but sees them as a bit… _spoiler-y_ , she says. What’s meant to be pure and organic and of the moment is oddly planned and predictable. Which is _not_ how she thinks love ought to be celebrated.

For the sake of the children, granted, she is grateful for their rehearsal. And because the minute the six of them step into the cathedral, they are deeply in awe. It’s the church of Alec’s childhood, and an integral part of his mother’s life. It’s also the site of his father’s funeral a year earlier, though he and Ellie have a pleasant memory of touring it together beforehand, confirming what heathens they truly were. But the kids are astonished by the sheer size and grandiosity of it. Tom mocks them a bit, for making such a big deal of things when they’ve basically been married a year and a half now. Ellie assures him that it is not the ornateness of the church that is important to them, it’s the personal significance for Alec.

During the rehearsal itself, Fred freezes halfway through his walk down the aisle with Tom.

“Fred, come on,” Tom whispers harshly.

“I can’t,” his little voice replies. “It’s too big. There’s gonna be so many people and they’ll all be looking at me all at the same time!”

“Nah, listen, they only care about Mum’s dress, that’s all anyone cares about at these things,” Tom assures him casually.

“What’s the trouble?” Ellie calls out from the end of the aisle.

“Fred won’t budge!” Tom shouts back, his voice reverberating.

Fred turns around to look at her. “Can’t do it, Mumma!” He cries out tearfully.

Ellie walks quickly down the aisle until she reaches him.

“It’s too big,” Fred whines when she approaches.

“What is, my love?”

He holds out his arms to be held. She bends down and picks him up, carrying him into a pew. “Give us a minute!” She calls out to the rest.

She sits down in a pew with Fred in her lap.

“What if I trip?” He asks her, bottom lip trembling.

“You won’t trip, sweetheart,” she replies gently. “Tom will hold your hand. He’ll keep you up.”

“What if I forget the steps?”

“Oh, my love, it’s okay if you forget the steps. Just walk in time with Tom.”

He buries his face in her shoulder. “Everyone will be looking at me.”

“Everyone _loves_ you,” Ellie explains, rubbing his back. “They’re all so happy to see you.”

Fred raises his head again. “Will you be waiting for me up there?” He points to the altar.

“No, love, I’ll walk down the aisle after you do. But Alec and Daisy will be up there, and Aila too. And Reverend Paul. If you want, Alec will give you a big, big hug when you get there.”

He wipes his eyes. “Okay.”

“Okay? You think you can manage?”

He nods bravely. “I can do it, Mumma.”

*

The rehearsal dinner is utter madness. Alec and Ellie find themselves standing in a corner of the restaurant’s private room just watching with wide eyes that dart back and forth, each with a glass of wine in hand.

The guests consists of their immediate little family, Jade and Erin, the Scottish contingent (Greer and her husband Angus, Greer’s daughter Megan and her own daughter Melody, Archie, Alec’s cousin Robby, his twin brother Billy and his wife Emma, and Robby’s son Harry) and the much smaller Broadchurch contingent (Lucy, David, Olly, and Olly’s girlfriend Gemma). Plus Reverend Paul Coates, who will be performing the ceremony tomorrow.

The Broadchurch contingent has met Greer, Megan, and Melody, but that’s the long and short of it. The rest are introducing themselves with vim and vigor, loudly of course, and the sounds of glasses clinking and drinks sloshing is unending. The baby is being passed around and fussed over, and is so overwhelmed by it that she never seems to get caught up enough with her feelings to audibly complain.

Alec in his nicest work suit, and Ellie in her airy mauve button-up cocktail dress, drink their wine mostly in silence as they watch it all unfold. They catch a few comments here and there, but otherwise it is purely a cacophony.

“Your daughter’s a bloody good woman there, Davey, ye should be proud!”

“Oh…no, I don’t really do exorcisms.”

“Look at the ole Hardy chin on this baby!”

“In this family, we don’t talk about Margaret Thatcher.”

“I WANNA CHOCOLATE MILK.”

“Aila’s a good, strong Scottish name, your gran would be pleased there, wee one.”

“No, I’m a _journalist_ , I don’t really _blog_ anymore.”

“Wait ‘til you see the colours of Ellie’s dress.”

“I don’t see what all the fuss is for. It’s a _second weddin’_ after all.”

“BARKEEP, BRING US ANOTHER ROUND!”

Halfway through a predictably boisterous dinner, Lucy taps her wine glass with her knife and stands.

“Bloody hell,” Ellie whispers under her breath.

“I think it’s traditional for the sister of the bride to make a speech at the rehearsal dinner,” Lucy announces.

Ellie shakes her head. “No, Luce, it isn’t actually, why don’t you just – “

“I’ll keep it short, I’d just like to say a few words about the happy couple since this may be my only opportunity. Not being maid of honour or anything.” She’s not bitter.

The Hardys, fairly tipsy, seem delighted by this turn of events and are all ears.

“If I’m being honest I wasn’t very keen on your Alec when I met him. No one was, to be fair.” The Hardys laugh, which surprises Lucy. “Including my sister. And years later, after they finally got together, I was…skeptical, let’s say, when Ellie broke the news to me. Wasn’t sure what good could come of it all. Lord knows we’ve all had our share of affairs at work – “ A few Hardys whistle at that. “And we’re here to tell you it doesn’t end well, am I right?” Grunts of assent. “And after all she’d been through, all they’d _both_ been through, it seemed impossible to me that they could ever be happy. Well. As ever, the joke was on me.” Lucy smiles at Alec and Ellie. “Seeing them together…it was like nothing else, really. A world of their own, they’d built, and so quickly. Alec and Ellie managed to build a family in less time than most people are able to build a bloody sandcastle. And they did it carefully and thoughtfully, somehow, in the midst of their _dare I say_ whirlwind romance. They both seemed to have this…innate sense of how to make the other happy. And things just…fell into place. Even the bumps along the road – yes, Auntie Lucy is looking at _you_ , baby girl – became seamless additions to this life they were constructing together. It never made any sense. Still doesn’t.” Lucy looks down at her glass, then back up again, eyes glassy. “And that’s exactly how I know it’s _right_. And it will last. This is it. Bloody nonsense.” She raises her glass. “Congratulations, you two.”

They all raise their glasses and toast. A teary-eyed Ellie gets up to hug her sister. Even Alec follows, hugging Lucy sincerely for perhaps the first time ever.

When they sit back down, Aila is writhing and fussing in the high chair next to Alec, which she is not quite big enough for. Alec picks her up and places her on his lap.

Then Greer stands.

Alec slumps a bit. “Oh, for the love of – “

Ellie places her hand on his thigh. “Shh.”

“Well I s’pose if the _sisters_ are makin’ toasts…”

The Hardys cheer rowdily for the woman who is now, in essence, their matriarch. She throws back what’s left of her scotch and stands at her seat.

“This is just off the cuff now, I haven’t practiced this or thought about this or imagined it in any way.” She clears her throat and straightens her spine. “When Alec was a wee boy of about ten – and I know this because I was in fact a _very_ avid journal-keeper at the time – he told me was never goin’ to fall in love. He said he didn’t want to take care of anyone else and he didn’t want anyone to take care of _him_. He would take care of himself, he said.”

Ellie turns to him, making a pitiful face, and squeezes his thigh. He sighs audibly.

“He was _adament_. He’d never get married, never have children. Well. After tomorrow he’ll have done it _twice_ and now has _four_. So. There you are, I s’pose. But when I pressed him, at the time, asked him what it might take for him to change his mind, he said only _one thing_. ‘Someone who never lets me win.’”

Everyone laughs, Ellie most of all.

“Now, I didn’t understand where a ten-year-old boy, even one of Alec’s uncommon maturity, would come up with such a thing, so I asked him _why_. And he said because he never wanted to be bored.”

Ellie turns and grins at him. He manages a furtive look at her and a reluctant half-smile.

“Well. It certainly took him a while. But he has _clearly_ found exactly that in Ellie.”

“Bababa,” Aila adds, playing with the buttons on Alec’s shirt.

“Yes. Exactly,” Greer agrees with a nod. “Like Lucy, the first time I saw Alec and Ellie together, I saw something brand new. My brother had come alive. Still utterly his own stubborn self, of course, but _alive_. It’s hard not to feel _you’re_ fallin’ in love just watchin’ them. It would be absolutely bloody _disgustin’_ if it weren’t so damn impressive.” She then picks up her water glass and looks directly at Ellie. “Thank you, Ellie, for givin’ me my brother back.” She sniffs back tears and smiles. “And for that outrageously adorable baby you gave birth to.”

“And me!” Fred exclaims.

“And you, of course, and Fred,” Greer amends, grateful for the moment of levity. “And Tom. And Daisy, thank you I guess to your mother as well.”

Everybody laughs, then toasts, and it’s barely finished when Ellie throws herself at Greer, in tears. Alec stays where he is holding Aila, but when Ellie lets go, he and Greer share a look across the table that says enough.

Roughly thirty minutes later, as folks mill about during the lull of waiting for dessert and coffee, Ellie sits in her chair contentedly nursing Aila. The baby is half-asleep as she eats, and Ellie is happy to quietly observe the swirl of family around them.

Then Billy and Emma approach her, holding their coats.

“Ellie.” Billy touches her shoulder and she looks up.

“Oh, are you leaving already?”

“We took care of the cheque,” Billy says in a low tone.

Ellie’s eyes widen. “You _didn’t_.”

Emma nods. “It’s our weddin’ gift to you. No need to make anythin’ of it.”

Ellie shakes her head, but smiles gratefully. “That’s very kind of you both.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Billy says warmly, continuing on.

Emma stops. “You have a beautiful baby.”

Ellie smiles through tears at her. “Thank you.”

Emma follows her husband out. Ellie looks down and sees that Aila’s eyes have closed entirely, though she is still sucking. Surreptitiously she stands and slips out of the private room to a quiet corner of the now half-empty restaurant. She carefully extricates her nipple from Aila’s mouth, popping a pacifier in instead, and manages to fasten herself back up with one hand like a pro. Cradling the sleeping baby, she rocks her from side to side, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Alec appears at her side. “She out?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He strokes the baby’s hair lightly. “She did well, I thought.”

“Oh, extremely.”

“You want me to go get her carrier from the car?” He asks.

“Nah.” She smiles down at Aila. “I’ll hold her.”

He nods, then kisses her before going back in.

*

Later that night, the house is quiet and Ellie sits on the couch in the living room with her feet tucked underneath her. Alec appears and hands her a plate of leftover lasagna. In the commotion of the evening, she barely ate at dinner.

“Thanks, love.”

Then he walks over to the bar cart. “Wine?”

“Mm, no,” she replies with half a mouthful. “Can’t do the sugar, give me what you’re having.”

“Scotch?”

She nods. When he moves to the couch with two glasses, she’s already more than halfway through her lasagna. She puts the plate down in favor of the glass.

“Cheers,” he says.

She clinks her glass to his. “Cheers.”

“Well.” He leans back on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table and stretching. “Your last night as a free woman.”

She scoffs and takes a sip. “Your last night as a bachelor.” Then she groans. “Bollocks, I should’ve had a hen night!”

“A cryin’ shame,” he replies with a roll of the eyes.

She repositions herself, bringing her knees to her chest and sticking her toes underneath his thigh. “Can’t stop thinking about the little boy who refused to fall in love.”

“Mm. Joke’s on him, as always.” He takes a long sip. “You know Greer orchestrated all that, yeah?”

Ellie squints. “What do you mean?”

“Convinced Lucy she should make a toast so that it would look natural for _her_ to make one,” Alec explains. “She’s strategic, my sister.”

Ellie shakes her head, smiling. “Runs in the family. All the way down to our scheming little girl.”

He sighs. The old argument returns. “Not schemin’.”

“She is! All the time!” Ellie exclaims. “God love her.”

There’s a slightly awkward pause during which Ellie eyes Alec suspiciously. He shifts a bit, avoiding her gaze. “So. I, uh.” He clears his throat. “Have somethin’ for you.”

She blinks at him. “No you don’t! Why!”

He shifts again and pulls an envelope out of his back pocket.

“Alec!”

He hands it to her. She rips it open and finds a card, inside it, plane tickets. _Somewhere with a bit of sunshine. Xx_

“Mallorca?!” Ellie gasps. “You got us a trip to bloody Mallorca?!” She sits up on her knees, grabbing onto his arm.

“What you wanted, no?” He replies, a little bashful.

“But – “ She’s clearly shell-shocked.

“Just three days,” he tells her. “Three days, four nights, we leave Sunday afternoon.”

She tosses the card and tickets to the side, then crawls onto his lap. “You stupid sod, I love you so.” She plants kisses all over his face, finally stopping at his lips. “Now I’m furious with myself for the no shag rule.”

He slides his hands up her thighs. “Rules _were_ meant to be – “

“No.”

*

Upstairs in bed, it’s a night just like any other night. They wash their faces, clean their teeth, change into their pyjamas and get into bed. They each turn off their bedside lamps.

“You can _hold me_ ,” Ellie says, with a warning tone in her voice.

He slithers over to her and pulls her back against him, kissing her ear then holding her tight.

“Just one last thing,” he says. “Last time I’ll ever be able to say it.”

“Hmm,” she murmurs sleepily.

He smiles into her neck. “Go to sleep, Miller.”

**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp...we're finally here. I've been thinking about this for months and months, and now I have to accept that it's never going to be as good as it was in my head. But here it is!
> 
> And here's the closest thing I could find to how Ellie's dress looks in my head, only purple and grey.
> 
> [ ](https://ibb.co/M883NGw)
> 
> [](https://ibb.co/c3BcQfc)

On the morning of their wedding, Ellie wakes up to the sound of the shower running. Her eyes still closed, she smiles mischievously, her first instinct always to join him.

Then she remembers what day it is.

Then she realizes she is not, in fact, _alone_ in bed.

Fred’s arm is holding onto her waist, his face smushed into her ribcage, head tucked just underneath her breasts. She has absolutely no memory of him getting into bed with them.

The shower is turned off, and soon Alec appears in the doorway wearing a towel and an uncharacteristic grin.

“Mornin’.”

She bites her lip and grins back. “Morning.” She nods down at Fred. “When did _this_ happen?”

“No idea,” he replies. “He was attached to you like a bloody barnacle when I woke up.” He goes to the dresser and puts on a pair of briefs. “Sleep well?”

“Like a cat.” She strokes Fred’s hair lightly. “Don’t think I dreamt at _all_.”

“Dreamt of my mother,” Alec says, now using his towel to dry his hair. “In the empty cathedral, sittin’ alone in a pew. Waitin’ for somethin’.”

“I think that’s beautiful.”

He nods, more to himself, then gestures over at her nightstand. “Tea there for you.”

“Oh.” She inches herself up against the heardboard a bit, mostly without disturbing Fred, who just moves right along with her, and reaches for the mug. “Thanks, love.” She takes a sip, then says, “I reckon our mums will both be with us today. One way or another.”

Alec pulls on a casual pair of trousers. From inside the closet, door slightly ajar, there’s a familiar, “Yayayayayaya.”

“ _She_ slept late,” Ellie comments as he heads for the closet.

From inside, she can hear his, “Good mornin’, wee lass!” And marvels at how excited he always is to see her. She replies with a hearty “Babababa” which sometimes sounds more like “bopbopbopbop” these days. “There’s my gorgeous girl,” he says. This is followed with a “mmmmmmmmm-muh.”

Ellie’s ears perk up. “That’s a new one!”

He appears with Aila in the doorway. “Sounds like she’s tryin’ to work somethin’ out there.”

“ _Yes_ ,” she replies delightedly. “And it sounds like that somethin’ is _Mumma_.”

He shakes his head confidently. “Nah, just a fluke, Dada’s comin’ first, no question.”

Aila is grinning at Ellie and starts bouncing. “Mmmmmmm-muh.”

Alec hands the baby over to Ellie wordlessly. She lifts her t-shirt and holds her to her breast, trying somehow not to disturb Fred. Aila’s feet rest upon his head, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Alec pulls his jumper on and when he turns around, he’s stopped in his tracks.

“What?” She asks a little shyly.

“This I need a photo of.” He finds yesterday’s trousers and fishes in the pockets for his mobile. “If only I could find a way to translate this photo into my vows.”

“Daft,” Ellie says, blushing.

He snaps a photo. Or two or three.

“That’s enough now,” she commands.

He squints his eyes, playing around on his mobile. “Got a new screensaver now.”

“Lockscreen,” she reminds him.

“Lockscreen,” he grumbles back. Then he smiles when he gets it right and shows the lockscreen to her. “This is why I wanna marry you.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “Because I can keep our daughter alive with my tits and our son likes to use me as a pillow?”

He leans down to kiss her lips. “Yes.”

Alec finds himself beaming at the use of _our son_ as he heads back into the loo. Though it isn’t the first time she’s said it, it seems to have a healing power on him each time.

“Will you take Aila today?” She calls after him.

“Hmm?” He’s cleaning his teeth.

“I’ll be at Greer’s all day with all the girls, it’ll be a mess of dresses and makeup and nails and champagne. There’ll be much more there for her to yank, smudge, and suck on. We just won’t be able to wrangle her.”

She hears him spit and then he appears in the doorway. “I’ll keep her.”

“All her things are here anyway, it’ll be easier.”

“Fine,” he says easily.

Ellie offers him a demure smile. “Thanks, love.”

He sits down on the edge of the bed next to her. Fred, again, does not stir.

“Doin’ all that, are you?” He strokes her hair lightly, guiding it out of her face.

She nods matter-of-factly. “Being a bride is busy work.”

“All day long until the weddin’.”

“’Til the minute you see me appear at the other end of the aisle.”

He exhales. “Long time. Long day.”

Ellie looks back at him quizzically.

“…Not used to bein’ apart for so long, are we?”

She leans her head back against the headboard at the realization. “S’pose we’re not.”

“A whole…well, seven hours nearly,” he calculates.

She reaches her free hand out to him and he takes it. “We’ll have a nice breakfast altogether. Then seven hours apart. And then, oh, I don’t know, the rest of our _lives_ together. It’ll all be fine.”

Aila unlatches from Ellie’s breast and tips her head back, looking at Alec upside down. He can’t help snorting with laughter.

“Mmmmmm- _muh_ ,” she says, as if taunting him.

Ellie shakes her head, chuckling, and switches Aila over to her other breast. Fred begins to stir, face still smushed into Ellie’s middle.

“Mumma,” he murmurs into her. Then he moans pitifully, comes to terms with his awakened state, and flips himself over, startled to see Aila’s body so close to his face. He groans again. “Mummaaaaaa.”

“I’m here, love,” Ellie says.

Alec pats his chest. “Mornin’, lad.”

He stretches out his little arms and legs. “Do you _have_ to get married today?! I wanna watch _Star Wars_.”

*

“Greer, this is too much.”

Ellie sits with her feet in a footbath of warm soapy water, with Daisy, Jade, and Megan next to her in a line. Erin has gone to spend the morning with an aunt who lives in the city.

Greer walks in with a bottle of champagne. “My god, Ellie, if you had _any_ idea just how much _pleasure_ this gives me, you’d go ahead and shut up your gorgeous trap.”

“It’s true,” Megan says, glancing at Ellie over heads. “My weddin’ was like this too.”

“And look how that turned out,” Melody – all of twelve – says as she passes by, blowing on her fingernails.

“Listen to the sass out of this one,” Megan comments. “Dunno where that’s been comin’ from.”

“Get over it, _Mother_.”

Greer is pouring glasses of champagne for everyone. “Only sorry the wee bairn’s not here with us.”

“Oh, she’d drive us all mad. She’s too little,” Ellie insists.

The manicurist Greer has hired enters the room, having finished the last of everyone’s fingernails with Melody’s. She gets started on the pedicures.

“Bit funny to think of the boys takin’ care of her all day,” Megan laughs.

“What’s that film?” Greer asks, closing one eye in thought. “ _Three Men and a Baby_?”

“Aila’s thrilled, I promise you,” Ellie says. “Nothing that child likes more than her Daddy time. Except possibly my tits.”

“Downright amazin’ watchin’ him with her,” Megan agrees. “She clearly adores him. And he clearly…well. Fatherhood seems to suit him much better in his old age.” Then she cringes at Daisy. “Sorry, Daiz.”

“Nah, you’re fine,” Daisy assures her. “I mean he’s always been a good dad. Just used to be a bit more…I dunno. Tentative? Anxious. Like he was always afraid of doing the wrong thing. He’s _much_ better now.”

Ellie turns to her seriously. “You think so?”

“Oh, yeah.” Daisy nods emphatically. “Think he trusts himself a bit more with you around. He’s got the right partner now. It helps.”

“Wise beyond her years, this one,” Greer says, handing Ellie and Megan a glass of champagne. “What d’you think, El? Bit of bubbly for the lasses?”

“Not a lass,” Jade reminds her.

“Right. Sorry.”

Ellie sizes up Daisy and Jade, who are looking back at her innocently and pleadingly. “Oh, all right.”

“YES!”

“But not too much. I’ll not have you both sloppy at the ceremony.”

Greer pours glasses for Melody and Jade, before glancing sympathetically at Melody. “Soon, darlin’.”

“Whatever.”

*

“…What are we supposed to do for six hours.”

Tom is sprawled out on the couch with his mobile, his brooding beginning to match the likes of his stepfather’s.

There are far more Hardy men than women, but only a few have opted to be a part of this pre-wedding bachelor hang while the women take nearly the entire day to get ready. Gathered in the living room of the house are Tom, Alec, Fred, Aila, Angus, Archie, and Paul Coates.

“…Could throw a ball around,” Angus suggests ambivalently.

“STAR WARS,” Fred exclaims.

“No one is watching Star Wars, Fred,” Tom says with a groan.

“Star Wars,” Fred says again, just in case.

Alec stands near the couch holding Aila, who is looking around the room with her pacifier in her mouth, looking a bit puzzled by the lack of womenfolk.

“Mumma would know what to do.” Fred sighs and flops back on the couch dramatically.

“Well, we’re goin’ to the barber shop in a bit, yeah?” Alec reminds them.

“Woo,” Tom says without looking up.

*

Ellie is halfway through her second glass of champagne by the time the stylist gets started on her hair. She vetoes the option to style it straight and instead they opt to keep her curls with some deep conditioning. The stylist uses the special pins Ellie bought, with small fake pearls on the tip of each one, and loosely pins most of it back, some falling down her neck, still allowing for plenty of movement and and comfort. She seems pleased with it and then announces to Greer that _this_ is _precisely_ why Aila is not with them today.

As Greer sits down for her turn with the stylist, Megan and Ellie stroll out to the front porch in their dressing gowns with their champagne glasses. It’s warm for Scotland in February, though still chilly.

“This is so nice,” Ellie says, looking down at her dressing gown. “What a lovely gift.”

“An odd family tradition.”

Megan sits on the edge of the railing and sips.

“Do you ever hear from your husband?” Ellie questions tentatively.

“Not a word,” Megan replies with surprising ease. “Not so bad really. Been so long now we hardly think anythin’ of it.”

“Still. Must be difficult.” Ellie swirls her champagne around in her glass. “I was only a single parent for about three years, but it was no picnic.”

Megan offers her a small smile. “Easier with one. Besides, if you haven’t noticed, I’ve got quite the sizeable family unit to help out as needed.” She downs what’s left in her glass. “Might be comfortin’ though, to know Alec will never leave you.”

Ellie nods vaguely. “It is.”

“…Let’s go back inside.”

*

Alec is somewhat distracted most of the morning and early afternoon. He’s grateful for the haircut, during which time he is not expected to speak. He holds Aila on his lap throughout, for she refuses to be separated. He holds her so that she faces the barber and she watches in both awe and horror as he does his work. The barber suggests either a shaving of the beard, but Alec will only consent to the barest of trims.

“The bride would string me up and leave me for dead,” he insists.

Angus and Archie do most of the talking when they go for lunch afterward, keeping the boys more or less engaged. When they get back to the house, Fred wants to put his tuxedo on _immediately_ and Alec has to put on Star Wars to deter him.

“Always gets what he wants,” Tom grumbles.

Sensing that this may be his last opportunity, Alec pulls out his mobile and then hands Aila off to Tom before disappearing into the back garden.

*

Daisy is getting her hair done when Ellie’s mobile rings. She herself is sitting on the bed admiring her pedicure. She can’t remember the last time she had one.

“Oh…” She finds her mobile on the other side of the bed. When she sees who’s calling, she can’t hide her schoolgirl grin.

“Must be the groom,” Greer surmises with an eyeroll.

Ellie puts the mobile to her ear. “Well, hello there.” She hops off the bed and heads for the door.

On the other line, “Have I reached the bride?”

“You have…” She navigates the great bridal mess on the floor. “Hang on.” Then she exits into the hall, closing the door behind her. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Sorry, just wanted to --- I’m in the hall now.” She leans back against the wall, turning into it like a shy teenager sneaking off to talk to her boyfriend.

“Got the dress on yet?” Alec walks aimlessly around the back garden.

“Not yet.”

“Mm. What are you wearin’ then?” He asks her saucily.

She goes bright red. But no one’s around to see it. “Silk dressing gown Megan got me.”

“All the way to the floor?”

His tone already has her melting into the wall. “No…knee-length.”

“ _Mmm_.”

“I’ll wear it later,” she promises him.

“You’ll not wear a _thing_ later.”

Biting her lip, she turns the corner of the hallway, still flush with the wall. “How’s it going over there? How are my children?”

“Bored senseless,” he tells her. “Aila should sleep soon. You ladies paintin’ your nails and havin’ pillow fights and the lot?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Figured as much.” He sits in a bench near the edge of the garden. “Listen, have you done your makeup yet?”

Ellie squints suspiciously. “No…”

“All right, do somethin’ for me, will you? I want you to take a moment and think back on that day, after Joe’s trial ended and we solved the Sandbrook case.”

Ellie frowns. “Alec – “

“Just listen. Think back to when we said goodbye. When you shook my hand. Then you walked out the door. And I got in a cab.”

She rubs her temple, looking down at the floor, and waits.

“I want you to think about that and remember how it felt.”

She looks up at the ceiling with her wet eyes wide open, hoping she can keeps the tears from actually falling.

“Now think of how far we’ve come. Remember how hard it was. How badly we needed each other and how impossible it seemed that we’d ever --- just…think on what we’ve been through, all right? And then think of everythin’ we have now.”

She’s nodding, though he can’t see her, and tears begin to stream down her cheeks before she can press her fingers to her tear ducts to stop them. “Yes.”

“Think about our first drive to Sandbrook. Then think about the first time you spent the whole night at mine. Think about havin’ me over to dinner. Then think about the day Daisy and I moved in. Think about me, yes, admittedly, stalkin’ you at your therapy appointment. Then think about the first time we heard Aila’s heartbeat. Think about bein’ in the box and bein’ accused of us havin’ an affair. Then think about the night I proposed.”

She’s crouching down on the floor now, sniffling and wiping away the moisture from her cheeks. “Alec…”

“All right? Think of the day we said goodbye. Then think about walkin’ down the aisle to meet me.”

“Okay,” she chokes out.

“Okay.” He stands and goes back to walking slowly and aimlessly. “Blow your nose, wash your face, and I’ll see you in two hours. Yeah?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

He stops walking. “I love you.”

The tears start to prick her again. “I love you.”

There’s a pause, and they each wait for the other to say goodbye. Greer appears at the end of the hallway, Ellie’s back to her.

Alec finds himself quietly chuckling through his _own_ tears and then says again, hoarsely this time, “I love you.”

“I love you,” she whispers back, turning around to see Greer standing there. “See you soon.”

“See you soon, love.”

As soon as Ellie hangs up, Greer puts her hands on her hips and says, “What’s he done now?”

Ellie walks right into her arms and holds her tight. “I love him so much.”

Greer lets out a laugh that’s maybe more like a sob and squeezes her. “I know you do, darlin’. I know.”

*

Forty-five minutes later, Ellie sits in the makeup chair on her third glass of champagne. She’s feeling just the tiniest bit floaty, but she’s spaced her glasses out over several hours so she’s in no danger of falling asleep or getting a headache. As the makeup artist pokes and prods at her, Ellie flinches and every so often tries to dodge her. She’s not had someone do her makeup since her _last_ wedding over fifteen years ago and it is impossible to relax or stay still.

“What do you think?”

The makeup artist stops long enough for Ellie to whirl around and look at Daisy. She’s wearing a purple jumpsuit with a matching blazer.

“Gorgeous!”

“Yeah?

“Definitely the right choice.”

The makeup artist turns Ellie’s chin back to her to she can continue. Daisy leans against the wall nearby.

“El?”

“Yeah, love.”

Daisy is shifting her weight around apprehensively. “So you know how Mum’s bringing a date.”

“Yes…”

“Well. She’s…” Daisy groans. “Bringing Dave with her.”

Ellie’s jaw tightens. “ _What_.”

“Yeah, she and…she and Dave are back together apparently, so…god, she’s the fucking worst.”

“Bloody insufferable cow,” Ellie says under her breath. “Every time I think I’ve _connected_ with the woman she goes and – “ She inhales, then exhales. “All right. Listen. Don’t you worry about this now, okay? Don’t let it ruin the day. I’ll give her a wallopin’ at the ceremony, believe you me, but…let me take this one on for you and your dad. I can take it.”

*

At 2:45, the cathedral is bustling, voices echoing through the walls, bouncing around the cavernous space. They have chosen not to specifically designate sides for the bride and groom – it would seem bizarre and useless at this point. But of course, the denizens of Broadchurch ending sitting almost exclusively together on one side.

In a small room off the entrance to the cathedral, the aisle walkers are gathered. Tom, Fred, Daisy, Aila, David. Ellie is with Greer in a room on the opposite side of the entrance, standing in front of a mirror. Her dress is a pale gray overlayed with lavender purple lace. It fits her like a glove, and was by far the only dress that felt in any way right to her. She pumped right before leaving Greer’s house, to avoid any opportunity for leakage, and to dump the alcohol-laced milk.

Greer checks the pin in her hair and inspects her makeup for any smudging.

“Perfect.”

Ellie exhales. “ _Don’t trip, Miller. Do not trip_ ,” she warns herself, wavering a bit in her heels.

The music starts – courtesy of Archie’s two friends from his high school band, guitarists both – and the guests hush themselves into a quiet anticipation. Paul approaches the altar, closely followed by Alec. Greer scurries into her seat from the far side, hoping no one will notice, and settles beside Angus.

First down there aisle is Daisy, holding Aila. The guests are properly awed by the sight of the baby in her little lavender dress. Daisy feels like she isn’t there at all and honestly doesn’t mind so much. When she reaches the altar, she goes to kiss her father on the cheek, then moves to stand a few feet to the right of Paul.

Next are Tom and Fred, a bit slow, for Fred is concentrating very hard on getting his steps right. Tom, somewhat reluctantly holding his hand, tries to speed him up but is largely unsuccessful. When they get about ten feet from the altar, Fred breaks free of him and runs at full speed the rest of the way, throwing himself at Alec’s legs, looking up at him with a huge grin, quite proud of himself. Alec ruffles the boy’s hair, before thinking Ellie will kill him for that later, then Tom yanks Fred back and guides him over next to where Daisy is standing with Aila.

When Ellie appears at the other end of the aisle, arm in arm with her father, the music changes. Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” the song she and Alec danced to on the beach, on their first _real_ date. She looks down, grinning and shaking her head. Greer hadn’t asked her about the music. Which means she got it from Alec.

David squeezes her arm and she looks up, then nods. The guests all stand as they begin their walk down the aisle. Ellie blushes, hard, and for an instant wishes they’d eloped. She focuses on Alec, impossibly handsome in his tuxedo, and the kids, shifty and awkward, and breathes out. As she gets closer to the altar, close enough that Aila can clearly see her, the baby starts bouncing anxiously.

“Mmmmmm- _muh_ ,” she babbles over and over. She leans forward and Daisy has to hold her tightly and pull her back. She has not seen her mother in over seven hours.

When they reach the end of the aisle, Paul asks, “Who gives this woman away?”

David, steadfastly, replies, “She gives herself away. With my love and support.”

He kisses her cheek, then Ellie moves forward as David takes a seat in the front pew next to Lucy. Ellie goes straight to Aila and plants kisses all over her face until she smiles and settles a bit.

“ _Mumma, I did it_!” Fred whispers at her.

She turns to him and smushes his face with her lips. “Well done, little love.”

Then she touches Tom’s shoulder with a smile and turns to take her place opposite Alec at the altar. He looks at her in awe, and then with a brief apologetic glance to Paul, steps forward and kisses her. They grin into each other’s lips, then Ellie pulls back and wipes the lipstick off him with her thumb. He takes a step back to his position.

“All right then,” Paul begins with a smirk. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the _official_ joining of Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller under the watchful eyes of both God and the British government. I’ve known these two for a while now, Ellie much longer of course, and remember, with great sadness, the fateful day they met. For years after, I watched as they grew closer, despite themselves I think, to become – long before there was anything romantic between them – two halves of the same whole. When they finally revealed their relationship publicly – at another wedding, as I recall – “ His eyes find Maggie and Jocelyn in the crowd. “I could not have been more pleased. Or less surprised. When they asked me to officiate their dare I say _inevitable_ wedding, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to say yes.”

Alec has possibly not heard a word Paul has said. Ellie keeps her eyes on Paul, listening as well as she can, but Alec’s eyes are on her the whole time. She glances at him now and then, with a look that clearly say _pay attention, you stupid sod_. But he does not obey her.

“I’ve been asked to keep my part brief, as the couple has prepared their own vows, and we are at the mercy of a six-month-old baby, who cannot be expected to last very long at all,” Paul says, eliciting a quiet laugh from the crowd.

Alec and Ellie look back over at Aila, who is staring at them in deep confusion.

“With that,” Paul announces. “I’ll hand it over to Alec, who has requested to go first.”

Ellie’s eyes widen in surprise and she purses her lips, shaking her head derisively. “Wanker,” she says under her breath. Those in the first few rows laugh heartily.

Alec smirks back at her, then reaches for a folded up piece of paper in his back pocket. He clears his throat, glances from Paul, to Ellie, to the “audience.” Then Ellie reaches for his free hand and gives him a reassuring smile.

“Right.” He clears his throat again. “Ellie.” He looks at her, a shy smile appearing on his face. “My Ellie.” She grins. “I fell in love with you on the worst day of your life.”

Ellie can already feel the tears building and silently curses herself, and him, and Lucy for being right.

“And I had no expectations that I would ever get to do anythin’ _but_ be in love with you. On my own, from afar. But what happened _after_ I fell into love was that _we_ fell into _trust_. A trust which I now know is even more powerful than love. And in our case, that’s certainly sayin’ somethin’. I don’t know what mystical forces were at work to cause you to fall in love with _me_ , but I’ll owe them for the rest of my life. What we have now, what we’ve managed, is…truly, _truly_ so far beyond _anythin’_ I could have hoped for the day you met me.” He glances over at the kids. “Daisy, Tom, Fred, and now Aila.” Aila bounces a bit at the sound of her own name coming out of her father’s mouth. “Our gorgeous and brilliantly odd wee miracle baby who, in a showin’ of great faith, _twice_ came into our lives before we were ready for her.”

Ellie presses both index fingers into her tear ducts before anything falls.

“It’s written here that I truly don’t deserve you and all the things that you are. But it’s crossed out, you’ll see, because I don’t think that way anymore. And that, my lovely lass, is because you won’t let me.”

She has to bite her lip now.

A few feet away, Aila is once again repeating “mmmmmm- _muh_ ” over and over, now anxious that their attention has strayed from her once more. Daisy tries in vain to quietly shush her.

“Now I realize I’ve said all this and not yet made a single vow, but – “

Ellie holds an index finger up and flashes him a crooked smile. “So sorry, hang on.” Moving swiftly, she goes to Daisy and lifts Aila out of her arms. As she walks back with her, she pulls a pacifier out of her pocket and pops it into her mouth. Then she looks out at their guests. “That’s right, it has _pockets_.” She returns to her spot opposite Alec, and Aila settles, laying her head on Ellie’s shoulder, lazily slapping her chest. “Sorry, love, go on.”

It’s impossible for Alec to look at her now, holding their at last very content daughter, and _not_ tear up. He exhales, hand trembling. Ellie reaches for it again with her free hand.

“It seems a bit strange to stand here and make promises to you that I made in my own head a long, long time ago. Promises I’ve _been_ keepin’ for nearly two years now. So, I promise that when we get back home to Broadchurch, everythin’ will be like it was. I will listen to you, hold you, fight with you, wake up with you, watch _Bake Off_ with you. I will drive you mad, I will confound you, I will make love to you. I’ll be your partner, your best friend, your co-parent, occasionally your boss, and now your husband. And whatever else comes next.”

Paul looks to him and he nods, signifying he’s finished. Ellie’s eyes are glistening with tears when Paul stops her with a look from stepping forward and kissing Alec.

“ _Ellie_ ,” he says, gesturing at her to begin.

“Uh.” She nods. “All right.”

She and Alec exchange a quick glance and then they transfer the baby to him so she can pull her vows out of her pocket. Aila seems a bit thrown but then curls up against Alec’s chest.

Ellie unfolds the paper. She looks down at it, then briefly at him. “Dunno how you made such easy work of this.” She breathes out, knowing he’s smirking at her. “When I met you, I wanted to kill you.” She pauses for laughter, and to make a face at him. “And I might now, but for the fact that I apparently cannot live without you. You infuriated me utterly right up until the moment we fell into bed together.”

“Still do,” Alec scoffs quietly.

She looks up and crinkles her nose at him, then nods. “Still do. The truth is, from the day I met you until the day you finally kissed me – “

He scoffs again. “You kissed _me_.

“Will you shut up!”

“Sorry.”

The guests, plus Paul and their children, can’t help laughing.

“Christ almighty.” Ellie looks back at her piece of paper. “From the day I met you until the day _you_ finally kissed _me_ , there were years of peeling back layers. Days when a revelation would lead to a new Alec standing before me. Each time I was drawn in closer and closer. Until there were no more layers. Until I was close enough to breathe with you. And there was nothing left but for us to…” She goes red. She hadn’t meant for it to be naughty. But it’s right there. “Anyhow. The Alec Hardy I know is one nobody else knows. The kids know most of him, his extended family knows some of him. I know _all_ of him. And no one else does.”

Alec is desperate to touch her right now, positively yearning, his skin tingling for her. And though her own love language is much different, she’s feeling much the same.

“I’d thought I might…list some of those qualities. Those parts of you I devote myself to. But it seems needless to try to explain you. And if I’m being honest, I don’t want to. Those parts of you are _mine_. And I’m – “ She can’t help it now, there’s a distinct tightness in her throat and the tears are forming. “ – so grateful for that. I got to peel back the layers and I disappear into them _with_ you.”

A tear of his own falls onto Aila’s head and she frowns, looking up at him as if waiting for an explanation. Ellie chuckles softly through her tears and Alec pats her back until she settles again.

“So here’s what I know.” She wipes her nose with the back of her hand, the way she always tells her kids not to. “I vow to always let you do the cooking. I vow to eat a salad at least once a week, at your behest. I vow to never place a half-eaten scotch egg in your hand. And I vow never to piss in a cup and throw it at you.”

The mostly confused crowd laughs, if only for the temporary relief.

Then there’s a pause. They hold each other’s watery gazes, then she takes half a step forward. “I vow to always touch and be touched.” She reaches for his free hand and places it flat on her bare chest, holding it there. “To hold and be held. To cry and be cried on. To bite and be bitten.” They share a shy, saucy smile between them. “To love and be loved. No matter how much you annoy me. And on that note.” She folds up the paper and puts it back in her pocket, then smiles at him. “Sorry I’m such an ungrateful cunt.”

There’s a bit of an uproar, then –

He grins back. “Sorry I’m such a grumpy old wanker.”

Their guests break out into spontaneous applause and whooping as they both laugh through their tears.

“ _All right._ ” Paul tries to calm everyone again, though he’s struggling to keep him laughing himself. “The rings?”

Daisy steps forward and hands her father a ring box. He kisses her cheek. “Thanks, darlin’.”

Daisy then reaches for Aila and brings her back to their spot. Alec opens the ring box and holds it out. Ellie can see the bright orange painted on the inside of the gold band and gasps with laughter.

“And here,” Paul says. “We’ll keep it simple.”

Ellie holds out her left and he holds onto it lightly with his left.

“Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

Alec slowly places the ring on her finger, swallowing his tears back _hard_. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

Ellie grins, staring down at it. As Tom and Fred approach, she whispers to Alec, “Is this – “

He nods. “My mother’s.”

She can’t barely hold herself together when her sons at her side. Tom holds out the ring.

“I wanna do it!” Fred exclaims.

“Whatever, fine.”

Fred takes the ring and gives it to his mother. She kisses both of them on the cheek, and they go back to their places.

“Ellie, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

“Yeah, I know it by now,” she quips. Then turns to Alec and slips the ring onto his left ring finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

Their hands clasp together and they both realize at the same time that they’re holding their breath. They let it out.

“Do you, Alec James Hardy, take Eleanor Jane Miller to be your lawfully wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?”

He squeezes her hand. “Aye.”

Ellie could not be grinning harder.

“And do you, Eleanor Jane Miller, take Alec James Hardy to be your lawfully wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?”

Ellie nods, eyes fixated on Alec. “And long after that.”

“Right then,” Paul says, feeling a little overwhelmed himself. “By the power vested in me by the Church of England, and with thanks to the beautiful Catholic church that houses us, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Alec and Ellie are so totally lost in each other that they forget entirely the next part. Paul had suspected he wouldn’t even _have_ to say it, but…

“ _You may now kiss the bride.”_

“Oh, thank god.” He reaches for her hips and pulls her forward, launching his lips at hers, pushing her back as he holds her against him. Her hands goes to his face and she’s gives as hard as she’s getting, until _he’s_ pushed back. Their lips separate for air but then don’t move apart, not an inch, and within a second his lips are on hers again, softer now.

Then the baby starts crying. She’s had enough. There’s riotous applause echoing through the church, stinging her ears, and she’s not in either of her parents’ arms. No more.

This, fortunately, comes at an opportune moment for Paul, who was just beginning to contemplate how he might pull Alec and Ellie off of each other and send them back down the aisle. Instead, Ellie reluctantly slips out of Alec’s arms and goes to the baby, lifting her out of Daisy’s arms. She stops crying.

“Come on, little bug.” Holding the baby with one arm, she returns and loops her other arm through Alec’s.

He kisses the baby’s cheek then returns his gaze to Ellie. “Shall we, Mrs. Hardy?”

She throws her head back. “Ugh, _finally_.” She grins and they make their way back down the aisle amid raucous applause

Once they step into the hall, briefly alone standing at the large, imposing door to the cathedral, they themselves looking at each a bit shyly.

“Hi,” she says.

He reaches out and runs the back of his hand down her bare arm. “Hi.”

And then, sucking on her own fingers, Aila says, “Bababababa.”

*


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to split this chapter into two, for my own sanity, and to get something out to you sooner. Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

After that, it’s a whirlwind. Somehow, they are whisked into the backseat of a car, with Greer telling them to “go home until I text you!” Alec remembers little about how weddings are supposed to work, but evidently they are meant to be the last to arrive to the reception.

They assume the car is simply a very nice Uber, for the driver is unknown to them. But congratulates them. They turn to each other, too distracted to put their seatbelts on, in a breathless moment of joyous silence. Ellie lays her head against the seat, a thoroughly contented smile on her face as she looks at him. He reaches for her left hand, thumb rubbing over the back of it. Without stating it aloud, they make a silent decision to _not_ make out like teenagers in the backseat of this stranger’s car, wedding or no wedding.

“…So that’s that done,” Alec says, eventually.

“Mm-hmm.” She’s just smiling at him happily.

His thumb runs over the rings on her finger. “Much better, this.”

She glances down at her hand and stretches out her fingers. “Yes, my transition to Wife is complete.” She squeezes his hand and looks down at his own ring with a grin. “Never seen that before. Quite like it.”

“What?”

“A ring on _your_ finger.” She briefly lifts his hand to her lips and kisses it. “Bit unfair, I got to wear an engagement ring all this time and you didn’t. Something very…final about it all, seeing you with it.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Wasn’t final before?”

“Well, people stop chatting you up when you have a ring on your finger. Quite definitive that way.”

They smirk at each other, and they both know they’re thinking of Dirty Brian in this moment.

“…Not many people were chattin’ me up before this, El,” he replies.

“ _I_ am,” she tells him, with a smitten little grin. “I’ll chat you up for the rest of your life.”

“Good enough, then.”

He reaches out to touch her cheek, leaning in, but stops himself. They are both acutely aware of the driver just a few feet away. She smoothes out his bowtie and his jacket, trying to distract herself from the temptation of his lips. The driver glances back through the rear-view mirror.

“Oh, god’s sake, kiss her already, will you?” He demands incredulously. “I’ll keep my bloody eyes on the road.”

Alec looks at Ellie helplessly, as if he has no choice now, and reaches for her hip, turning her into him. With his other hand, he goes for the back of her neck and pulls her lips to his, immediately parting them with his tongue. She moans with delight and brings her both hands to his face. He presses her back into the seat with the force of his kiss just as the driver pulls into the drive. He clears his throat, then Alec and Ellie reluctantly separate.

“Oh,” Ellie breathes out. “…Thank you.”

She goes for the car door, but Alec stops her. “Hang on.” He quickly gets out of the car and moves around to the other side, opening the door for her.

Ellie lifts her dress and carefully steps out onto the pavement, taking his offered hand. They step inside the eerily empty house and while Alec takes a moment to center himself, Ellie is immediately stepping out of her heels and scurrying up the stairs to their temporary bedroom.

“Have to wee like the dickens,” she mutters on her way up.

With a chuckle, he shoves his hands into his pockets and, at a much slower pace, follows her up. While she’s in the loo, he stands in the middle of the bedroom, purposeless, just looking around aimlessly. She emerges after washing her hands and leans against the doorway.

“Christ, that is a _dress_ ,” he observes, eyes flickering up and down her body.

She stands up straight with a surprised smile and smoothes it down. “Yeah? Was briefly worried it wouldn’t fit this morning, but lo and behold…” She looks down at it, pleased. Then with a sigh brings her hands to her breasts. “Got those stupid nipple pads on just in case, so far so good. These dresses were _not_ designed with breast-feeding women in mind, I’ll tell you that.”

He’s just smiling at her, hands still in his pockets.

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly. “Did I ruin it?”

He takes a few slow, calculated steps toward her and her sly smile returns. “No.”

Ellie leans back against the wall, waiting for him to reach her. Less than a foot away, he says, “I can’t believe you married me.”

She looks down, cheeks blushing, then looks up again. “Oh, shut up, yes you can. Didn’t have much of a choice after you got me up the duff.”

“Yes, you did,” he replies, reaching out to hold onto her waist. “Still, here you are. Legally bound to me now.”

She brings her hands to his chest, underneath his jacket, sliding her palms up and down. “S’pose we get to be a bit soppy now, don’t we? Earned it, yeah?”

He smiles a bit shyly. “We’d never have believed it five years ago.”

“ _Never_ ,” she agrees, perhaps too emphatically.

Alec kisses her softly, slowly, capturing her lips over and over without urgency or agenda. They have their whole lives now, officially.

“You taste like champagne,” he says, kissing his way from her lips down to her throat.

“Just a little.”

His hands slide up and down her bare arms as he sucks at her throat. “How much time do we have,” he murmurs.

“Dunno. Just waiting on Greer’s text. Not long, I suspect,” she replies, tilting her head to the side for him. “Careful not to leave a mark please. Still got photos to take.”

He groans, employing his tongue over his teeth. It tickles a bit and she shivers, giggling involuntarily. He raises his head, then kisses her smiling lips.

“Unfair, isn’t it. When all you want to do is be alone, you have to go and suffer with a hundred other people,” Alec complains.

“I believe you meant _celebrate_ ,” she chides him. “ _Celebrate_ with a hundred other people. Many of whom drove a long way to do so.”

He’s frowning when he touches his forehead to hers. “Can’t imagine anythin’ but bein’ alone with you right now.”

She strokes his hair soothingly. “I know.”

He wraps both arms around her waist. “Just want _you_.”

“I know, love,” she responds softly. “We’ll have the night all to ourselves. Then nearly four days in Spain…”

“Mm.”

“Just a few more hours to get through.”

She holds his face to hers until they’re breathing in time with each other, slow and deliberate, eyes half closed. After a moment, she says, “You really had me going with those vows of yours. I thought I’d get a sentence or two at most.”

He grins and she kisses his nose.

“It was beautiful,” she whispers.

“We’ll put both our vows in frames and hang ‘em up in the livin’ room,” he says.

She chuckles softly. “You say that in jest, but I’ll do it.”

His fingers trace the lace of her dress, drifting all over. “And you just had to go get the baby.”

She nearly rolls her eyes but it’s surprisingly hard to do with any confidence with his face so close to hers. “She’d never have quieted otherwise.”

He kisses just beneath her eye. “The sight of you standin’ there…lookin’ like that, and then with Aila just restin’ against your chest happily, big eyes starin’ at me…” Moisture builds in his eyes at the thought. “Christ, I hope I never forget that.”

Ellie slides her arms up around his neck and kisses him. Then her mobile vibrates over where she tossed it on the bed.

“We’re being summoned.”

He nods, accepting their fate, and takes a step back. “All right.”

She gives him a kiss on the cheek, then moves to the mirror. “I’ll just fix my makeup, then we’ll go.”

*

Their arrival at the reception hall is immediately followed by a session with the photographer in the courtyard. Alec is utterly exasperated by the whole thing, but is buoyed by how thrilled Ellie seems by it all. She’s positively beaming, thrilled by the sight of their children all dressed up.

“Haven’t had one single family portrait done since we’ve been together,” she reminds him as she smoothes out Fred’s flyaway hairs.

Megan runs over to Ellie from the sidelines with a tube of lipstick. “Touch up.”

Ellie holds still as Megan reapplies her lipstick for her, since she is without a mirror. Alec smiles at that. The baby is wriggling in his arms restlessly, reacting with confusion to the fluttery energy around her.

“Get his stupid tie, will you?” Ellie requests, just as Alec notices Tom’s tie askance.

He walks over and helps Tom adjust it. Aila leans forward and grabs a fistful of Tom’s hair.

“ _Ow_.”

“Sign you need a haircut!” Ellie calls out to him.

"Just had one _today_!" Tom complains.

She organizes the children together, then stands between them and Alec.

“Bopbopbopbop,” Aila babbles.

Ellie glances up at Alec. “Don’t look so bloody put out,” she chides him. “These photos are the whole reason we waited so long to get married.”

From the moment they’d decided to marry, Ellie had been clear that they would _not_ do so until after the baby was born. For the sake of the photos, if nothing else

“Whole reason _you_ decided,” he reminds her. “Frankly I think it would’ve been hilarious to have you pregnant in the weddin’ photos.”

“Yes, _hilarious_.” She pulls a face at him, then turns her attention to the photographer.

Aila leans down with startling swiftness and sinks her gums into Ellie’s bare shoulder. Alec snorts, he can’t help it, and rights her again. “Sorry.”

“Mmmm- _muh_.”

*

Once the photos are taken, the newlyweds are instructed to wait just outside the reception hall until they’ve given the cue to enter.

Alec sighs. “All this bloody pomp and circumstance.”

“All down to your sister,” Ellie notes. Then she frowns and grabs her own breasts. “Gonna need to nurse fairly immediately once we get in there.”

He nods. “Then you’re goin’ to drink.”

“Yeah. She’s got enough reserves for the rest of the night and I’ve got the pump for later.”

Alec smirks at her. “A very sexy weddin’ night ahead.”

Ellie laughs out loud, then covers her mouth quickly.

“What,” he says, frowning.

“Dunno, just a bit odd whenever you say the word _sexy_.”

He doesn’t not have time to parse this remark any further, for they are then summoned into the reception. Announced – by whom they have no idea – as Mr. and Mrs. Alec Hardy, they enter the space hand in hand, both a bit pink with embarassment over the attention. They are met with applause and mild exclamations as they make their way toward their long table at the back of the room. Refreshments are already being served, various high tops set up around the room with hors d'oeuvres for the taking, and an open bar set up in a corner of the room. They sit at their table with the kids, who are already nibbling away.

Ellie scans the room for whomever has the baby. It’s Beth. She calls out her name and waves her over.

“Give her to me, I’m _bursting_ ,” she tells her, knowing she’ll understand.

Ellie turns back toward the wall and nudges Alec, who unzips just enough of her dress so that she can comfortably yank the bodice down and unfasten her bra. Once Aila is latched on, she turns forward again. Aila eats as if absolutely _starving_ , mostly for the comfort of it, for she has not nursed properly in nearly nine hours. Ellie relaxes too, leaning back in her seat and exhaling.

“All right?” Alec asks her.

She smiles at him. “Never better.”

Aila is making enthusiastic little gurgling noises as she sucks.

“Your biggest fan,” Alec remarks with amusement.

Two seats down from her, Fred is sitting on his knees in his chair and calls out to her. “Mumma, is it time for cake yet?!”

Ellie blinks at him incredulously. “We’ve only just _arrived_.” Then she pats Alec’s arm. “Go grab me as many tiny food things as you can manage, will you please?”

He leans over to kiss her temple. “As you wish, Mrs. Hardy.”

Overhearing this, Daisy shakes her head to herself. “So weird.”

“What is?” Ellie asks, turning to look at her.

“ _Mrs. Hardy_ ,” Daisy repeats. “Mum was never even Mrs. Hardy.”

Ellie hadn’t considered that before. She is in fact the first Mrs. Hardy in this particular line of Hardys. The first since Alec’s mother.

Speaking of which, she scans the room again, looking for the woman in question. Tess is spotted all the way on the other side of the room, near the bar, with an unimposing, light-haired and slightly balding man about her age.

Daisy clocks this. “Are you still going to – “

“Oh yes,” Ellie answers, quickly and demurely. “Don’t you fret.”

Beth swings by again with a gin and tonic and places it on the table in front of Ellie. “Never say I don’t love you.” And she’s gone again as quickly as she came.

Ellie looks down at Aila, happily eating and slapping her breast. “Hurry up, little bug, Mummy’s got some _celebrating_ to do.”

“Mumma.” Fred shoves a whole bacon-wrapped date into his mouth, so then Ellie has to wait in suspense until he’s finished chewing. He swallows. “Mumma, if you eat cake, does your milk taste like cake?”

“This child and _cake_ ,” Ellie mutters, to no one, reaching for a napkin to then wipe his mouth. “I’m afraid not, love. Not really.”

“So Ailie doesn’t get to have cake.”

Ellie squints at her son suspiciously, unable to tell whether he’s pleased by this or genuinely sorry for her. “…No…”

Fred seems satisfied. “More cake for me.”

Alec finally returns with a plate topped with two of everything.

“None for yourself?” Ellie asks coyly.

But Alec knew better than to expect he’d be sharing whatever is on her plate. “I’ll eat later.”

She pops a tiny sausage roll into her mouth and then swivels around toward the wall. “Help me switch her please,” she requests with her mouth full.

With mild confusion as to the logistics, he manages to help her maneuver her dress and switch Aila to her other breast. Then she faces forward again.

As his family busies themselves eating, Alec looks around the room restlessly. He takes a sip of Ellie’s G&T, then asks, “What are we meant to do _now_?”

She blinks at him. “What d’you mean?”

“I mean we’re just…what, havin’ dinner with these people? For what? ‘Til when?” He looks around again, confounded.

“Alec.” She turns her whole body in his direction. “This is our _wedding_.”

“I – “ He stammers, clearly struggling. “Yes. Right, I know. But – “

Ellie lets out a breath. Aila finds her hand and clings onto her index finger. “We’re going to eat, drink, mingle. There will likely be another round of speeches or the like. Then there’ll be dancing. Then there’ll be cake. Then I’ll launch a bouquet at them all and we’ll escape into the night.”

“You don’t have a bouquet.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Fuck, I forgot a bouquet.” She stares off.

“Ellie.”

She snaps back. “Sorry, can you just _try_ to enjoy this please? It’ll only happen once. We get _one night_ to celebrate us. We’ve got incredibly stressful jobs and four children, how often do we get to do this?”

He sighs. He wants her to be happy but he truly cannot make himself understand the point of this. “We can celebrate us all the time, it’s the _other_ people celebratin’ us that I can’t – “

She reaches out and touches his cheek. “I _know_ you just want to be with me right now and I love that about you, I truly do, but if you’re a grumpy wanking knob end all evening, our wedding night is _not_ going to go the way you’d like it to. Understand?”

He’s pouting, but he’s resigned. “I love you.”

“I know.” She kisses his cheek. “Now go get me some more of these mini kebab things while I sit here and keep your daughter alive.”

*

"Go home. Now. The both of you." 

Tess turns in her chair, startled. Dave looks like a deer in headlights.

"Thank you for coming, it's very nice that you've found someone again, I'm thrilled for you, I am," Ellie says, hands on her hips, squeezing them to keep her anger in check. "But you've got a whole lot of bloody nerve bringing _him_ here after everything and I'll not have the memories of your betrayal looming like a dark cloud over our wedding day. He doesn't deserve that and I won't have it, do you understand me?"

Tess stammers. "Ellie, I - "

"Just go. Now, before he's seen Dave. Sign the guestbook and be on your way. I hope you've left one hell of a gift."

With that, Ellie turns on her heels and saunters away.

*

As he often does, Alec uses the baby as an excuse to quietly walk the perimeter of the party alone. Just him and his distractingly cute junior partner patroling the area. Ellie, meanwhile, flits from guest to guest, quickly sliding into social butterfly mode. He’s quite content to watch her, all lit up from the inside, totally radiant. He has always liked to appreciate her from afar. It’s his way of practicing gratitude for her presence in his life.

She’s enthusiastically holding hands and gasping over something with her school friend Annie when there’s a tapping of a microphone heard of the speakers.

“Hi. Um. Sorry.” It’s Daisy. “I guess this is usually the part where the best man and the maid of honor makes speeches. But since…all three of us. Um, four of us. Are kind of the whole wedding party…”

Daisy, Tom, and Fred are standing together near the DJ station. Fred is standing on a chair. Ellie scurries back to their table and Alec meets her there. They take their seats with both anticipation and mild trepidation.

“So. Um. Hi. I’m Daisy. This is Tom.” Tom raises a hand. “And Fred.”

“I’m Fred!” Fred repeats.

“Most of you probably know us, but for those that don’t, we are the, uh, _children_ of the bride and groom. Which isn’t normally how it works but we learned a while ago that we don’t really do things How It Works in this family,” Daisy says.

Ellie reaches out and grabs Alec’s arm. She’s already in tears just about the fact that they are even _doing_ this.

Daisy clears her throat, exactly like her father, and looks down at the notes she’s written. “My dad and Ellie were kind of together even before they were together. The first time I saw my dad with her, I had the weirdest sensation that I never wanted to see him with _out_ her. They’d be working late a bunch and end up on our couch drinking tea and squabbling into the night, I’d hear them from my bedroom and even the sound of them having a _row_ was somehow comforting to me. And I could tell Dad liked it. Felt like he sort of started to _live_ for their arguments, like they kept him going or something. She’d leave and he’d be grumbling underneath his breath about how annoying she was but I could see the difference in him. See that he missed her already.”

Ellie smiles and nudges Alec’s shoulder with hers. He stays focused on Daisy.

“Dunno when he fell in love with her exactly but I know it was before we moved to Broadchurch together. He moved us for my sake, he said, but I called bollocks on that one pretty quickly. I knew it was for Ellie. And once I got to know her, I understood why.”

She hands the microphone over to Tom, who shifts a bit, uncomfortably. “Um. I kind of never thought there’d be another, you know, bloke in my mum’s life after what happened with my dad. Kind of thought it would just be the three of us from that point on. She’d go out sometimes and I knew that, but I didn’t think about it much. She never brought anyone home. Never talked about anyone. The only person she ever really talked about…was Alec.”

Ellie rests her head on Alec’s shoulder as she listens to her son’s speech.

“Always complaining, obviously. But clearly she cared enough about him to _complain_. So.” He takes a breath. “I mean, is it weird to end up married to the man who arrested your ex-husband? Yeah, probably. But my mum’s weird, so. The only thing _I_ needed to know was that Alec was nothing like my dad. That he was a good man. That he loved her, loved us. Would never leave. Then he knocked her up three months into dating her so I figured he was in it for long haul.”

Everyone laughs, and Tom seems to relax a bit.

“It’s been nice not to worry. Like, Alec is basically the most loyal person on the earth and if you can say anything for sure about him it’s that he’s crazy about my mother. So I don’t worry. And after what went through…that’s kind of worth everything.”

Ellie kisses Alec’s cheek and interlocks their fingers. Aila is pulling on his bowtie, but he seems not to notice.

Tom hands the microphone, cautiously, over to Fred, who is practically buzzing. But as soon as the microphone is in his little hands, he looks around shyly, as if he’s only now realized how many people are present and watching him.

“Hi.” His face goes red and he looks at his siblings, who nod at him. “Alec met me when I was a baby and even though he’s not my real dad he really is my real dad.”

Alec has no free hands with which to wipe away the moisture that’s already building in his eyes.

“He’s my real real dad and he loves me and plays Star Wars with me. And I’m really happy he married my mum today because I forgot they didn’t already get married. Because he loves her and she loves him so much and they made a baby together. She’s over there.” He points over at his parents, and specifically Aila. “She can’t do much but she’s okay sometimes. Mumma said she came from too much love. My mum and my dad had so much love that it had to make another person because it was too big. They had to do sex to get her but it was because of the love.”

“Oh god,” Ellie whispers, turning her face into Alec’s shoulder.

But everyone laughs, and seems utterly charmed by the six-year-old.

“Tom says that when I finish my speech there will be cake so I’m gonna be finished cause I want it to be cake time.”

Fred hands his microphone back to Tom then hops off the chair.

“Um.” Tom looks at Daisy. “Thanks for coming?”

Daisy grabs the microphone. “And congrats to….well, all of us, I guess. …Thanks.”

Ellie is immediately out of her chair, going straight to them and smothering them all with kisses. Alec, overwhelmed, takes a moment before joining in.

*

The dreaded pink cake appears shortly thereafter. Ellie can only laugh, and tugs at Alec’s arm until he gives up and laughs too. They cut the cake together, still laughing. They simultaneously feed each other a piece of cake, laughing even harder.

“This is bloody nonsense,” Alec complains, crumbs in his beard.

“Of _all_ the traditions…” Ellie says, between bursts of laughter, trying to swallow at the same time.

“Ah, c’mon,” he says, catching the broken pieces that fall out of her mouth. “I’ve seen you stuff your face with cake a hundred times, woman.”

Ellie wipes her mouth, pursing her lips to try to stop herself laughing. “Different when someone _else_ is stuffing your face for you.”

He grabs another piece and holds it up. With an eyebrow raised, he says, “Now I _know_ you can do better than that.”

She gasps and whacks him on the shoulder, then they both bend over laughing again.

“MY TURN!” Fred exclaims.

*

The first dance is briefly postponed due to a very sleepy, very cranky baby. Beth is on baby duty when it strikes. She finds Ellie in the crowd and hands a whiny Aila over to her.

“Oh, sweet bug,” Ellie coos, as Aila rubs her eyes. Her grumpy face, identical to her father’s, has taken over for her usual expression. “Party’s a bit much for you, eh? I know.” She cradles the baby tightly. “You are your father’s daughter.”

Aila turns and smushes her face into Ellie’s breasts for comfort. Ellie makes eye contact with Alec from across the room and makes a vague gesture. He nods. He disappears and reappears again with a baby blanket, and she thinks that perhaps the primary reason she married him is because he has never not understood a single vague gesture from her.

They meet in the middle, where Alec covers the baby with her blanket, blocking out the light, as Ellie gently bounces her.

“We’ll have to stick her in the next room over once the music starts,” Ellie says. “Which means we’ll have to stick someone in there with her.”

Alec opens his mouth and she immediately shakes her head.

“Not you."

He exhales. “I’ve an idea,” he says, as his eyes land on Jocelyn drinking scotch in a corner.

Ellie starts walking around with Aila slowly, trying to lull her to sleep.

Alec can smell Jocelyn’s scotch as he approaches her.

“…You bring your own?”

Jocelyn smiles slyly, then takes a sip.

“I can smell it, it’s too high end for our open bar,” he says.

She holds out her glass to him. He nods a thank you, then grabs it and takes a sip.

“Ah, that’s the stuff there.”

He hands the glass back.

“Surprised you didn’t insist on the best,” Jocelyn tells him.

Alec shrugs, then leans back against the wall. “Not keen on drinkin’ too much tonight, to be honest.”

“Yes, it does help to actually remember one’s wedding day, doesn’t it?”

Alec smirks. “And for some of us, less is in fact _more_ when it comes to the weddin’ _night_.”

Jocelyn smiles back. “Ahhh, yes. That _is_ true.”

He shifts a bit. “Come to ask a favor of you, though I suspect you may be thankin’ _me_.”

“Oh?” Jocelyn raises an eyebrow.

“Need to put the baby down. Might you be interested in sittin’ with her in the other room?” He asks. “She’ll be in her carrier. All you have to do is sit. And drink.”

She flashes him the closest thing to a grin he’s ever seen on her. “It would be my _pleasure_.”

When he returns to Ellie, it’s with a G&T in hand, a straw popping out of it.

“Jocelyn will stay with the baby.” He holds the drink up to her, the straw to her lips. “Here you go.”

“God, I love you,” she replies, before taking a good, long sip.

*

With Aila asleep, tucked away in the next room supervised by Jocelyn, Greer is anxious to start the dancing.

“We never picked a song,” Ellie whispers to Alec after Greer warns them that the first dance is imminent.

“I did,” he replies innocently.

“You did?”

He takes one last sip of his drink. “Daisy and Tom gave me a few options and I chose one.”

With a cocky smile, Alec leads her onto the dance floor as the first few chords of “River” by Leon Bridges start to play. He slides an arm around her waist.

“ _I’ll_ lead.”

Ellie rolls her eyes, but she’s clearly delighted by the whole thing. “Yeah, all right, we’ll see.”

She brings a hand to the back of his neck as he grasps her other hand in his and holds it to his chest.

“Everyone’s starin’,” he tells her.

“Yes, I know,” she replies, smiling. “That’s how it works. Just look at me.”

He nods. And, predictably, she starts to lead. But he can’t help smiling. He brings her hand to his lips and kisses it.

“Why this song?” She asks.

“Just felt right.”

“I like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He tips his head down, leaning his forehead to hers. Their movements slow so they are barely dancing anymore. Just holding each other, a nearly imperceptible sway. She closes her eyes and strokes his scruffy cheek with his fingertips.

“El,” he whispers. His eyes are still open, flickering over her nose, her lashes, her cheekbones.

“Mm.”

His lips brush over her cheek, then move to her ear. “How much longer?”

She grins and sighs simultaneously, then it turns into a soft chuckle. “You’re hopeless.” She opens her eyes and strokes his hair. “Just shut up and hold me.”

He buries his face between her neck and shoulder. “Yes, my wife.”

He can feel the heat of her cheeks when they blush.

When the song ends, it feels to them like it had just started. But the relief of their guests is palpable, for now the _real_ dancing can begin.

Ellie stays on the dance floor as Alec surreptitiously slips away. Fred runs straight for her legs, sensing an opening. The guests pour onto the floor. Alec is content to sit back at their table and watch, sipping his middle shelf scotch.

To his astonishment, there’s a _whole hour of this_. Only once does another slow song play, during which time Ellie dances with her father and Alec dances with Daisy. But otherwise, he is merely a spectactor. He’s in awe of Ellie’s energy and lightness. She seems to dance with _everyone_ , but mostly their sugar high six-year-old. Every once in a while her eyes find his and these moments sustain him.

Too slowly, people begin to trickle out. Alec pops in to check on Jocelyn and Aila, who is still fast asleep, and when he turns, Fred is exhaustedly raising his arms in Ellie’s direction.

“Mumma hold me,” he pleads, reverting back to the toddler he was not so long ago.

Ellie lifts him up into her arms and he immediately lays his head on her shoulder and yawns. Alec relishes the sight of her holding her son in her elaborate wedding dress, rocking him from side to side. Once he’s asleep, he is seamlessly shifted into Lucy’s arms.

“We’ll find you for lunch tomorrow,” she says to her sister and father. “Before we go to the airport.”

Alec’s ears perk up. It’s finally time to leave. They say goodnight to Daisy and Tom, then Alec hands Aila’s carrier over to David. The minute his hands are free, he’s pulling out his mobile to call an Uber.

“How far’s the hotel?” Ellie asks, coming up behind him, arms circling his waist.

“Ten minutes at most.”

“Our bags are already there?” She pushes herself up on her tiptoes until her chin can rest on his shoulder and she can eavesdrop on his mobile.

“Archie dropped them off this afternoon,” Alec replies. “Two minutes.” He puts his mobile back in his pocket and turns around in her arms.

“Two minutes too long,” she says, kissing the side of his mouth.

Then he grabs her hand urgently and drags her outside to the curb. The uber finds them snogging like teenagers on the sidewalk when it finally pulls up.

“What are you, newlyweds?!”

***


	8. Chapter 8

They walk into the hotel hand in hand. It’s not immediately clear that this is their wedding night, because Ellie is not wearing white or anything remotely close to white, and they are grateful for the lack of attention paid them as a result. She hangs onto his arm as they pick up their key at the front desk and then they have the lift to themselves due to the late hour. He takes her hand and kisses each one of her fingers and neither says a word until they reach the top floor. She lags behind him a bit as he leads her down the hallway, her feet are too sore to keep up. As he unlocks the door, she stands behind him, arms encircling his waist, and then the door opens and they fall into the room.

The room has an art deco feel to it. There’s a king sized bed and a balcony, and upon popping her head into the loo Ellie is delighted to find a massive bathtub with jets. She throws her arms wide with pure happiness.

“I love it,” she declares. “I’m never leaving.”

He sits down in an armchair to pull off his shoes and she simply kicks off hers without a care. His mobile buzzes and he pulls it out of his pocket. She realizes she has no idea where _hers_ is and hasn’t seen it in hours. She doesn’t care.

“Aw.” Alec shows her the screen. It’s a picture of a sleeping Aila from her father.

“ _Oh_.” Her hand drifts to her heart as she sits on the arm of his chair. “How is she this perfect?”

He pulls her down onto his lap. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe we made a baby together.”

“Really. Hard to believe, is it, when she wakes us up in the middle of the night?”

He pouts a little. “Listen, I’m very proud to have made a baby with you.”

“And so you ought,” she replies, tracing his jawline with her index finger. “The best baby on earth, no less. But enough about babies.”

There’s a knock on the door then. Her expression is immediately annoyed, and then surprised when she sees that he is _not_. She hops up of his lap.

“Who on earth…”

He says nothing, simply goes to the door. It’s room service.

“ _Oh_.”

A cart is wheeled in to the middle of the room. Alec tips the man, then he disappears.

“What’ve you done?” Ellie asks excitedly, lifting the covers off the plates. “Oh my god.”

Chips. Two full plates of them. Strawberries. Cream. Champagne.

“Do I know my wife or do I know my wife?”

Ellie shoves a chip in her mouth and replies, “Say that again.”

Alec grins, meeting her by the cart. “My wife.”

She dumps half a bottle of vinegar on the chips and then douses them with salt.

“You’ll kill us both,” Alec says warily.

She tosses another chip in her mouth. “Kiss me and you’ll only get it second hand.”

He obeys, pressing his lips to her vinegar-soaked ones. “Good lord.”

“I love you,” she says back, kissing him again. “Pour us a glass, I need to get out of this dress before I ruin it.”

She eats another chip then heads for the loo.

“Wait, wait.”

His voice stops her.

“It’s our weddin’ night. That’s _my_ job.”

She blinks at him, antsy to get her dress off and continue eating. “What is?”

“Gettin’ you out of that dress.”

“If it means that much to you.” She glides back over and turns her back to him.

Alec pulls her against him, kissing her neck, her mostly bare shoulders. His hands roam the front of her body and occasionally pause to grasp a bit of fabric needily.

“You’re not doing a very good job of it,” she tells him, though she tilts her head to the side for him.

“Ah, right,” he grumbles against her skin. “Gimme a minute.”

She chuckles, her hands finding his, fingers interlacing, and she leans back into him with a sigh.

“Alone at last,” he whispers. His warm breath on her neck sends a chill down her spine. “I missed you.”

Ellie closes her eyes, fully relaxed, pulling his arms tighter around her. “We were together all night.”

He shakes his head, then kisses her behind her earlobe. “Mm-mm. After an entire day’s separation, I saw you for ten minutes at the altar, then spent the evenin’ havin’ you constantly drawn away from me.”

“We spend too much time together,” she says, though there’s not one hint of a complaint in her tone. “We’re spoiled. We’ll grow tired of one another after a while.”

“Doubtful,” he replies. “Even when we’re quarrelling for hours on end, I’d still rather be with you than be without you.”

She’s grinning. “We’ll check back in on that one in five years.”

He drags his tongue along her shoulder blade. “Your skin tastes too good for me to ever change my mind.”

“When I think of the complete and utter _loner_ you used to be…”

“Still a loner,” he replies. “Just a loner for you.”

She snorts. “I love you beyond measure but you don’t get me out of this dress so I can eat those chips, our marriage will be short-lived.”

“Fine.” He bites into her shoulder, then slowly starts to unzip her dress.

“Do you realize we’ve passed that on to our daughter?” Ellie asks. “The biting.”

He laughs suddenly, then kisses the top of her spine. “Nothin’ wrong with an oral fixation.” He pushes the straps of her dress off her shoulders.

“Yeah, you _would_ say that.” She wriggles a bit. “Now yank it down and let me step out of it, but don’t let it pile up on the floor, we need to hang it up straight away.”

He does as she asks, though he is quite distractedly by her black lace underwear. She steps out of the dress

“Hang it in the closet. I’m going to change,” she says.

He watches her grab her bag then disappear into the loo. “D’you really need to leave the room to change?”

“Yes, this is how wedding nights work,” she calls back out ot him.

He hangs the dress up carefully, then pops a chip into his mouth, lips puckering at the tartness of the vinegar. He gets to work on opening the champagne.

“Is it strange that I remember very little about my first weddin’ night?”

“Over twenty years ago, and you’re you, so no.”

He pops the cork and she makes a little surprised noise from the loo that makes him smile. “You remember yours?”

“Yes,” she replies matter-of-factly. “Most people do, Alec.”

“Let me wager a guess. Tom was conceived that night,” Alec surmises glumly.

“Ha. No.” There’s a bit of a rustling. “We learned not too many weeks later that Tom was in fact conceived two weeks _prior_ to our wedding night. Oops.”

He pours them each a glass. “You’ve _always_ been shit at birth control then.”

There’s a long pause as Ellie considers this. Fred had been a surprise. Aila of course had been a surprise…

“Blimey,” she says finally. “Back on the pill though, so we needn’t worry.”

He puts the bottle down. “You are?” They’d been relying purely on breastfeeding as a form of natural birth control.

“After six months, the breastfeeding’s not so reliable, so yeah,” she replies from the next room. “Sinclair put me back on the pill last week.”

Alec has no idea why he’s so thrown by this news. He frowns to himself and takes a sip of champagne.

“Don’t you start without me,” she calls.

He puts his glass down. “How on earth did you – “

“I have spouse’s intuition now. Kicks in quickly.”

With that, she appears in the doorway, wearing a short, little more than thigh-length, beige silk dressing gown. “Closest thing to white I can wear with any integrity.”

He swallows, then coughs a little. “It’s…nice, it’s um.” Her leg may be short but they are _shapely_ and right now he’s seeing a _lot_ of them. “What?”

She laughs. “Wait ‘til you see what’s underneath.”

He frowns. “Wait?”

She saunters toward him, then cups his face. “There’s no _rush_ , my love.” She kisses him softly. She still tastes like vinegar.

His arm instinctively encircles her, hand resting on her arse. “Right.” He kisses her back, and she keeps it going, running her finger along the inside of his ear. “Mm…” Christ, is he powerless against her touch. “Ellie…”

“ _Relax_ ,” she insists, patting his chest. “Take your trousers off. Lose the jacket. Drink some bubbly with me and enjoy this moment.”

…That he can do. He breaks away from her and does as he’s told. She grabs one of the plates of chips and brings it over to the bed, lying back and crossing her legs as she pops them in her mouth decadently, sometimes two by two.

Stripped down to an open dress shirt and his briefs, he grabs their champagne flutes and brings them over to the bed, handing her one before lying beside her, propped up by the pillows.

She holds her glass up. “To us.”

He raises his. “The former fiancés club?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Alec James Hardy.”

He nods in agreement and they clink their glasses. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” She kisses him before taking a sip.

“Right, then, Mrs. Hardy,” Alec says. “How does it feel to be Scottish by marriage?”

Ellie gasps suddenly. “Oh, bollocks, I should’ve made you wear a kilt! Do you _have_ a kilt?”

“Aye.” He leans forward and starts kissing her neck and what’s revealed of her chest.

“ _Where_?”

He responds simply by sucking on her collarbone.

“ _Alec_.” She slightly slaps his shoulder.

“Back of my closet,” he murmurs grudgingly, barely coherent.

She reaches over him for another chip. “The _minute_ we get back you’re putting it on for me.”

He slides a hand up her thigh. “And then takin’ it off again?”

“Bet your arse.”

“Bet _your_ arse,” he replies, squeezing hers.

She lets out a little yelp then swats him away. He tries to push her dressing gown aside with his nose.

“No, no. It’s not time for the special garment yet,” she insists.

He sits up, frowning. “Are we on a _schedule_?”

“Haven’t even finished my _glass_.” She takes another sip. He has long since put his down.

With a sigh, he returns his hand to her thigh. “Do you have _any_ idea how soft your skin is? How good you taste?” He raises her arm and kisses his way from her wrist down. “The way you taste like…”

“Wedding cake and breastmilk?”

He sucks fervently at the inside of her elbow. “Bloody delicious.”

Unable to feign disinterest, she turns into him, tangling their legs together. But still holding her glass of champagne, like something out of a Noel Coward play. He draws her face to his and kisses her hard this time, pushing her down flat on the bed. Without breaking the kiss, she reaches her hand over and precariously places her glass on the bedside table. He snogs her until she’s breathless, cheeks pink, chest heaving, just how he likes her. He raises his head and smiles, then starts kissing his way down her body. Her arms remain limp at her sides as he unfastens the loose belt of her dressing gown. He sits back on his knees so he can see all of her, then pushes the sides open.

The _special garment_ is a shimmery white gold strappy thing that clings to her beautifully. As he stares at her in awe, every inch of her skin that isn’t covered blushing under his gaze.

“Bridal enough for you?”

He settles himself between her legs, sitting again on his knees, and runs his hands up and down her thighs.

Quietly, he says, “You overwhelm me.” He moves to hover over her, hands planted on either side of her head. “I mean it, Ellie, you…you knock me out.”

Moved, she reaches up to touch his face as he lowers himself down and kisses her. His kisses are soft and slow now, reverent and worshipful. He moves down to her chest, kissing the tops of her breasts, then lingering between them. His hands roam her body, exploring the garment and practically clawing at what’s underneath. He wants to bury himself inside her, live in her warm softness, mold himself to her. He sighs with contentment and his hot breath makes her tingle and shiver with anticipation. He’s whispering her name almost unconsciously when his fingers find a hook that attaches the bottom of the garment to the top. Knickers he can detach and remove.

He grins into her skin then sinks his teeth into the side of her breast triumphantly. He lifts his head to see her face as his hand plunges into her knickers. With a sly grin, he says, “Got one last vow for you…the kind you can _feel_.” He drags his lips down her body until he reaches her belly button. “Gonna make you _scream_ ‘I do.’”

He sits up and slowly strips off her knickers. He takes a few brief seconds to enjoy the anticipation then bends down and lifts her legs over his shoulders. Ellie closes her eyes, covering her eyes with one hand. She truly _can_ feel his vows to her with every lick and stroke of his tongue. _I love you, I’ll give you everything_. Every suck and lap. _I worship you, I’ll never leave you_. He pushes his fingertips into her thighs, hard enough to leave a mark, and guides them even further apart and burying himself deeper. She’s pulling mercilessly at his hair, bucking her hips and whimpering madly. He should do what she wants to send her over the edge but he’s not ready to let her go yet.

“Alec,” she cries breathlessly. “ _Please_.”

Alas he cannot resist her desperate pleading. He knows exactly what she wants and he gives it to her, but doesn’t let up. He sucks at her clit until she comes a second time, crying out louder than she ever can at home. He feels euphoric listening to her, feeling her. Finally she pulls his head up by his hair. He grins smugly and kisses her thigh.

“Now you remember why you married me,” he says as he hops out of bed.

“Jesus christ almighty,” Ellie exhales, arms flopping down on the mattress.

He grabs a towel from the loo and cleans himself up, watching her from the doorway. He’s still grinning at her cockily. She turns her head to look at him.

“Oh for god’s sake, get back over here, you cheeky bastard.”

He makes his way back over to the bed, grabbing a chip and popping it in his mouth as he passes the cart.

“Lose the shirt,” she insists just before he reaches the bed.

He discards it easily, then crawls onto the bed beside her and takes a sip of her champagne. He lies beside her, propping himself up on his side and looking down at her.

“Christ, you’re beautiful when you’re all flushed like that.” He plants a kiss her on lips. “Unbearably sexy.”

She grabs hold of his neck and pulls him down to her with a kiss that is somehow as soft as it is fierce, like she cannot decide. He moves over her once more, diving into the kiss and making the choice for her – fierce. She parts her thighs so he can settle between her legs and he moans happily as he grinds against her, slow and rhythmic. Her hands roam over his arms, his shoulders, his back until finally her nails dig into him and he nips at her bottom lip in response.

“Ah, so that’s how you want to play it,” he remarks slyly. “Bit of pent up sexual tension in you after all, eh, love?”

“Shut up,” she replies harshly. She kisses down to his throat and nips playfully at the skin there. “Take your stupid briefs off, I hate them.”

With a wickedly satisfied grin, he rolls off her and pulls off his briefs as instructed. Before he can move over her again, she pushing him down on the bed and swinging a leg over him,

straddling his waist. She looks down at him triumphantly, hands roaming his bare chest.

“You ignited me,” she says, almost accusatorily.

“Well done me.” He runs his up, down, and inside her thighs. “Come here.”

She simply glares down at him suspiciously.

“ _Come here_.”

Ellie leans down over him, a hand on either side of him to prop her up. He reaches a hand up and finds the tiny zipper at the back of her lingerie and slides it down without breaking eye contact with her for a second. The tension in the garment is released and he peels it off of her, tossing it away.

“Much better.”

He enjoys the view silently for a moment, and she enjoys watching him enjoy the view. A brief moment where they have _both_ ceded control. Then she slides downward and reaches for his cock.

“Not yet,” he says quietly.

She frowns at him. With his index finger, he beckons her forward again. She grudgingly obeys. He releases a breath, then reaches up with one hand to gently remove the pins from her hair. She can’t help smiling. She’d forgotten they were there. But he never forgets. He always removes them, or reminds her to remove them, before they do anything where they could hurt her. Somewhat reverently, she drops her head down for him, and he uses both hands and draw them out, reaching back and setting them on the nightstand behind them. Her hair falls down around her face and when she looks up again, they’ve both lost the desire to roughen things up.

“We really did get married today,” Ellie says, lowering herself on top of him.

He strokes her hair back. “Just a couple of crazy kids in love, what will they do next?”

It’s an odd thing, Ellie thinks. A wedding night after nearly two years of sleeping together. And sleeping together _often_. There’s not at all the same kind of pressure that many newlyweds have, but a different brand altogether. Despite the always reliable ease between them, there’s a need to have tonight be different from other nights. For two people who make love just about every chance they get, this poses not quite a _problem_ , but a mild conundrum.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he seems to read her mind.

“Thinkin’ too much,” he informs her as he turns them both onto their sides.

“Sorry,” she says quickly, blinking rapidly to remove herself from her thoughts.

He kisses her softly, his lips lingering in place for a long moment before he speaks again. “We’ve nothin’ to improve upon. And nothin’ to _prove_.”

She smiles, a hand to his face, thumb smoothing over his brow. “You’ve given me two orgasms already so I suppose you’re right enough there.”

He flashes her a grin and she could swear he’s just winked at her. “There you are.” His hand travels down to her arse, moving in circles, and he kisses her again. “Don’t care _what_ we do tonight. We’ve got the next forty, fifty years to do whatever we want.”

Her eyes widen and she lets out a short chuckle. “Bit ambitious.”

“Nah.” He grips her thigh and lifts her leg up around his hip. “We’ve got lotsa time, lass. All the time we want.”

“Not going to be quite so spry when we’re seventy.”

He finds himself unconsciously moving his hips, rubbing up against her. “We’re doin’ all right at forty-four and forty-eight, so I’m not so worried.”

Her eyes close and she lets out a soft moan at his rhythmic ministrations. With her lips already parted, he captures her bottom lip, slowly guiding his cock toward her entrance.

“For the next five days, all we have to do is enjoy each other,” he says. “However we want to.”

She’s officially weak. “Uh huh.”

Alec gently pushes inside her and is gratified by the way she immediately drops her head back and sighs. Her leg tightens around his waist and she shifts to take him in deeper. They move together, both expelling deep-throated groans at the same time, then smiling to themselves. He buries his face in her collarbone and seems to be inhaling the scent of her before grazing her skin with his lips. Her nails dig into his back like she’s trying to pull him inside her whole body, and he’d let her. With a surge of energy, he flips her onto her back, pushing in deeper.

“Jesus,” she whispers, barely audible, eyes opening. “Yes.”

“Yes?” He asks automatically, always needing to confirm.

She nods, taking his face in both her hands. They breath together, lips not quite touching, he’s enjoying the sound of her desperate sighs too much to muffle them. Her eyes close again and he kisses her nose, her cheekbones, back to her nose.

Ellie could melt into the bed, she feels so good. This part might be her favorite, even more than the ultimate orgasm, those penultimate moments when it’s all anticipation, expectation, when she can relax in this euphoric feeling for a while, desperate yet without any intense urgency. The finish line is out there somewhere, she knows, but it’s not a race. Sometimes he’ll ask her to tell him what she wants, but he always knows. He always finds his way, he invariably seems to know the needs and desires of her body better than she knows how to articulate them.

“Alec,” she breathes out. Confidently, proudly, with gratitude for the rings on her finger and the hot breath on her skin.

She runs her fingers through his sweaty hair and he bites into her shoulder, but soothes the bitemark with his tongue and sucks at her skin with fervor. She then pulls at his hair in response and he grunts with approval. It makes her laugh, short and breathless, joyous.

He whispers “I love you” as his mouth glides over her breasts and she arches her back, either into the mouth or into the words, it’s unclear. He drags his tongue from the valley between her breasts back up to her neck, eventually landing just behind her earlobe before nipping at it a few times in a row. His tongue darts into her ear and she responds by locking her ankles together at the small of his back and pushing him deeper inside her.

“Christ,” he gasps into her temple. Then he kisses her eyelids and says her name over and over, she loses count.

In this moment she’s suddenly grateful that she never has to have sex with anyone else in her whole life. Only this man she’s just married, this man who makes her feel more and better than anyone ever has.

Buoyed by that notion, she summons all her strength, strength enough to flip them over, urgent but careful. He lets out a short laugh and is grinning when she sits up on top. He rubs his hands over her thighs, then grips both her hips. She lays her palms at his chest as she takes it upon herself to pick up the pace, now at last growing tired of the anticipation.

“Gorgeous,” he mutters, and it’s unclear if he knows he’s said it out loud. He watches her writhe above him, moving in a way that will bring her to the edge, now consumed by the need for release. He loves her so much like this. In daily life, the woman gives and gives and gives, but in bed, she’s not too shy to get _hers_.

It’s agonizing not to touch more of her, but he’s more interested in looking at her at the moment. Seeing all of her. Un-selfconscious, no blushing. Fully comfortable in her own skin and totally in control. For a while, he’d gotten used to a slightly more cautious Ellie, concerned with her perceived shortcomings of her body, in the last few months of her pregnancy and the first few months after giving birth. But she’s come fully back into herself lately. Often still quick to blush, but rarely unsure of herself in this way.

Alec is drawn back to the moment by her high-pitched gasp. She sits up straight, her hands sifting through her own hair, desperate to grasp onto something. The sight is more than enough to send him over the edge, and she’s clearly close.

He reaches a hand out to her and she takes it, curling their fingers together. She comes first, and he revels in the sight, in each cry that escapes her, until he comes too, his sinewy body writhing beneath her. She collapses on top of him with a massive exhale, her head tucked between his neck and shoulder.

“Fuck, I love you so much,” she sighs, blindly stroking his cheek.

“You’re a bloody marvel.”

At the words, she smiles into his neck, suddenly remembering the first night they spent together. He’d said those same words to her, twice in fact. And she’d known unequivocally that she was in love.

Alec has a hand in her hair, absently massaging her scalp, and the other traces up and down her spine.

“ _My_ bloody marvel now,” he amends.

She kisses his throat. “Been yours for a good while now.”

“Yes but now it’s in writin’.”

She rubs his chest lazily. “Don’t wanna move.”

“Nowhere else you have to be.”

“Mmm.” She lifts herself up to kiss him good and proper until his toes curl. Then she smiles sheepishly. “Ought to have a wee.”

She painstakingly crawls off of him and runs off to the loo. He turns his head and watches her go. He takes a breath, rubs his face, then sits up with a groan.

“More champagne?”

“Mm, yes, please!” She calls out.

Alec grabs both of their glasses and brings them over to the room service cart. When she emerges from the loo, she’s immediately laughing, but there’s a flirty, schoolgirlish quality to it.

“What?” He questions, finishing his pour.

“Just the sight of you, starkers, pouring champagne,” Ellie replies. “Thoroughly charming.”

“The R-rated version of Noel Coward?”

She plants a kiss on his lips as she passes him. “Exactly.” She finds her short silk dressing gown and throws it on. He pouts. “Oh, what?”

He hands her her champagne flute. “Was enjoyin’ the view.”

“You can still enjoy the view,” she counters. “Can’t help being cold.”

He silently decides to let it go and picks up the bowl of strawberries. “You grab the cream.”

She does, and they meet on the bed. He throws back the cover to the edge and pulls the sheet over his lap. “Have to protect the goods,” he says, causing her to burst out laughing.

He sticks a strawberry in her mouth to stop her from laughing. She bites off half, then he eats the other half.

“Eleanor Jane Hardy,” Alec says, as if he’s testing out the way it feels coming out of his mouth.

“That’s me!” She takes a sip of champagne, then puts it down on the nightstand. “Reporting for duty.

He looks at her mischievously. “Eleanor Jaaaaane Hardy.”

“All right now you’re pushing it.”

He dips a strawberry in cream and takes a bite. “Mrs. Alec Hardy.”

She squints uncertainly. “Bit patriarchal.”

“Detective Inspector Ellie Hardy.”

“Ah, that I like.” She snuggles up to him, resting back against his shoulder. “The Detectives Hardy, come to _solve your case_.”

“Say it like that, sounds like a euphemism,” he replies, quirking an eyebrow.

“Maybe it is.” She dips her finger in the cream by itself and then licks it off. “We should have a show on telly.”

“Like Cagny and Lacy,” he agrees.

She smirks. “Yes, love. Like Cagny and Lacy.” She pats his cheek.

He turns to face her more easily, propped up by pillows. “You know what I’ve been thinkin’.”

“Only sometimes,” she replies.

“We need somethin’ better than _love_.”

Ellie blinks at him. Then she catches on. “Oh, to call each other.”

“Everyone calls _everyone_ love in this bloody country,” Alec tells her, with mild irritation. “We need somethin’ more.”

She thinks about this, pursing her lips. “ _Darling_?”

“Daisy and Aila are _darlin’_.”

“Right.” She nods. “ _Lover_?”

“No.”

She snorts. “Could say _honey_ like the Americans do.” She puts on a terrible American accent when she says it.

“God forbid.” He shakes his head. “Though it is a _little_ endearin’.”

She taps her fingers along his upper arm. “You call me _babe_ sometimes when we’re shagging. Used to say _baby_ sometimes too, less so now that we _have_ one of course.”

“Mm. Yes.” He nods slowly.

“Could take it _out_ of the bedroom as well,” she suggests. “Think it could be as endearing as it is sexy.”

“You have to do it too then.”

“I will,” Ellie insists. “Babe.”

“All right then, babe.”

He slinks an arm around her waist, underneath her dressing gown, and pulls her closer.

“Going to bring _sweetheart_ into the mix from time to time,” Ellie announces. “But you don’t have to.”

“Do couples normally plan out their terms of endearment?”

She puts some more cream on her finger and holds it up to his lips. “No, but I like that we are,” she replies, as he licks it off her. “It’s pragmatic. There’s no reason love can’t abide a little pragmatism.”

“Right you are, babe.”

She grins and slips her leg between his as he kisses her grin. He abandons the strawberries and covers her breast with his hand, stroking it with his thumb.

“Yes?” She asks coyly, glancing down at his hand.

He leans in and starts kissing her neck.

“ _Insatiable_.”

“It’s our weddin’ night,” he protests in a muffled murmur. “And you taste better than strawberries.”

She feigns shock. “ _And_ cream?”

“And cream,” he mumbles back.

Ellie slides down the pillows until she’s more horizontal. Alec’s lips never leave her. He’s kissing her breasts now, giving them equal attention, having opened her dressing gown with his nose.

“So much for that,” she laughs.

A hand slips between her legs.

“Mm. Dunno if I can handle four orgasms in an hour’s time,” she tells her, though the widening of her thighs betrays her.

“You can,” Alec insists. “If you could when you were pregnant, you can now.”

She strokes his hair lovingly. “Ah, that’s why we have such a happy baby.”

He laughs against her breasts, he can’t help it. So she laughs too.

“Love you,” he mumbles before taking her breast in his mouth.

She sighs happily. “Love _you_.” Then she realizes his ministrations have all been a clever ruse to get her milk to letdown. “Oi, see what you were doing there.”

He lifts his head with a boyish, shy smile. “All right?”

She touches his face with the back of her hand and nods. He moves over her, sucking eagerly at her nipple, while one hand strokes between her legs, moving from her inner thighs. He slips a finger inside her and bites her nipple at the same time, and she lets out a gasp. She breathes out, trying to keep herself steady though she can already feel the euphoria slowly rising in her.

“Gentle,” she warns him. “Bit sensitive down there now.”

He strokes her _very_ gently, almost _too_ gently – coupled with the sensation of him suckling at her breast she’s in danger of being lulled to the world’s most pleasurable sleep. As he slips a second finger inside her, a long, drawn-out moan escapes her. He looks up at her face, pleased, then moves to her other breast. She keeps one hand at the back of his head, then other dancing aimlessly up and down his back. When her soft moaning betrays how close she is, he raises his head and concentrates on his work between her legs.

“Close,” she gasps. “Go back.”

“You got it, babe.” He returns to her breast and sucks as he unlocks the combination inside her that never fails to make her come.

She cries out, arching into him, head thrown back into the pillow. She’s delightfully unfiltered, unconcerned with being heard. It’s such a beautiful thing to him. He can’t wait for four more days of this in Mallorca.

“ _Oh_ , for fuck’s sake,” she exhales, relaxing her body again.

He crawls up to kiss her mouth and she tastes her own milk on his lips.

“Mmm…” Her eyes close and she stretches out her limbs.

“Had enough then?” Alec asks with a smug smile.

“Mmm.”

He chuckles, slipping out of bed to remove the strawberries and cream. He glances over as she turns into her pillow with a satisfied smile on her face, then disappears into the loo. After a few minutes, he gets back into bed with her, reaching for the covers and pulling them up around them both. She sleepily molds herself into him, tangling up with his warm body.

Alec kisses the top of her head. “Happy weddin’ night.”

She yawns. “Happy wedding night, babe.”

He switches off the light and wraps his arms around her.

*

In the morning, Ellie wakes first. Her face is pressed into Alec’s bare back, her body half-covering his as he lies on his stomach. She groans, not unhappily, and lightly slaps his arm. Over his shoulder she can see the alarm clock on the nightstand. 8:07. While of course they had both hoped to sleep far longer, 8:07 is sadly still quite impressive.

“Babe.” She kisses his shoulder.

He smiles into the pillow. “Goin’ all in on the babe thing, are we.”

She sinks her teeth into his shoulder now.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he complains…weakly. He turns over onto his back. “Mornin’.”

“Morning…” She touches her face suddenly. “Ugh, I didn’t take my makeup off last night. I must look a sight.”

Her mascara is smeared but that’s about it. With his thumb, he tries to wipe some of it away. “A sight, yes. You are a sight.”

As she leans down to kiss him, they sound of his mobile ringing makes them jump.

“Bloody hell…” He blindly reaches over to the nightstand until his hand finds it. He holds it up. “Facetime from Lucy.”

“Hang on,” Ellie says, then pulling the sheets up around them. “Okay, go on.”

He answers it. There’s the immediate sound of whining and screaming and it takes a minute for Lucy’s face to appear on the screen. But she’s not talking to them.

“Look, Freddie, look, they’re right here, see?”

Fred’s face appears on the screen, tear-stained and puffy.

“Oh my love,” Ellie coos, sitting up with alarm.

“What’s the matter, lad?”

Lucy turns the screen to her. “Woke up in a panic, convinced himself you’d left on your honeymoon without saying goodbye.” She turns it back to Fred.

“Oh no, sweetheart, no,” Ellie says.

“No no no no,” Alec adds.

“We’re just down the road, love,” she tells him. “Ten minutes away.”

Alec nods. “We’d never leave without sayin’ goodbye to you, mate.”

“Never,” Ellie confirms.

Fred sniffles. “You didn’t get on a plane?”

“No, we didn’t get on a plane,” she replies.

Fred wipes his eyes. “When do I see you?”

“Just a few hours,” Alec tells him. “We’ll see you back at the house for lunch, all right?”

“Promise?”

“Of course we promise,” Ellie says.

“Swear it,” Alec adds.

“Okay.” Fred turns his head, he’s looking at Lucy. “Can I have waffles?”

Ellie laughs, dropping her forehead onto Alec’s chest.

“Go ask Granddad,” Lucy tells him, then appears on the screen again. “Been a fun morning, let me tell you.”

“Sorry, Luce,” Ellie says, making a cringey-face. “Can we see the baby please?”

“Hang on.” Lucy lowers the mobile and shuffles around.

Ellie looks at Alec in the meanwhile. “Poor Fred.”

“All right.” They hear Lucy’s voice and suddenly Aila appears on screen, propped up against some pillows on the couch, pacifier in her mouth. She blinks in bafflement at the screen.

“There’s our sweet little bug,” Ellie says, preening a bit for Aila’s sake.

“Oh hey there, darlin’,” Alec says.

Aila stares at them with great concentration.

“Aila,” Ellie coos.

The baby has some sort of epiphany and spits out her pacifier.

“Steady on, darlin’, it’s just us,” Alec says.

Aila starts bouncing, but there’s still a confused frown on her face.

“We’ll see you soon, my love, be a good girl,” Ellie tells her.

“ _Mmmmmm-muh_ ,” Aila says.

“Luce, we’ll see you in a few hours!” Ellie calls.

“Right then. Get back to…whatever it is you were doing.

“ _Goodbye, Lucy_ ,” Alec says, then hangs up the mobile.

Alec tosses the mobile away.

“Oh, bloody hell.” Ellie looks down. “Have to go pump now. Why don’t you order us some breakfast, eh?”

She quickly crawls out of bed.

“Yes, Mrs. Hardy,” he replies, reaching for the hotel phone.

*

They force themselves to eat their full English breakfasts at the table. Despite them getting the exact same thing, Ellie manages to steal several bites from Alec’s plate. Since falling in love with her, he has mastered the very complicated art of scowling and smiling at the same time.

Afterward, they take their coffees out on the balcony and appreciate a rare sunny morning in Glasgow. She makes him point out random sites to her from their bird’s eye view and she ribs him for his lack of enthusiasm.

“One day I want us to do a full holiday in Scotland,” Ellie tells him. “With all of the kids. A week long tour of the whole country.”

He scoffs. “Hardly take a week.”

“We’ll do it _properly_.”

Then he lures her back into bed. They make love with her straddling his lap, impossibly close, and surprisingly quiet, one body. They lose count of how many times they both whisper _I love you_ , each one a implicit promise that goes without saying yet they can’t help speaking the words. He holds her there long after they both finish, loath to remove his lips from her skin.

They get dressed with great reluctance, then finish what’s left of the now flat champagne. With just a hint of a buzz, Ellie throws him back into a chair and goes down on him. His cries seem to shudder the walls around them and echo in her ears long after. She likes when she can be the smug one.

As they’re leaving, Ellie realizes she never got to take advantage of the massive bathtub with the jets. “Don’t you fret, lass,” Alec assures her. “There’s more where that came from in Mallorca.” And she wants to marry him again.

They check out of the hotel, Ellie hanging onto his arm like a lovesick schoolgirl, and Alec calls an uber to take them back to his family home. Now _their_ family home. So they can spend an hour with their children before taking off again.

Curbside, they wait hand in hand. Ellie brings his hand to her lips and kisses it, then rests her head on his shoulder.

From the doorway, they hear the woman from reception calling them. “Mr. and Mrs. Hardy!”

They turn around.

“Left your passports on the counter.”

She holds them out.

“Say that again please,” Ellie requests with a flushed smile.

The woman blinks. “You left your – “

“No, before that.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Hardy.”

Ellie takes their passports. “Thank you _so_ much.”

She looks up at Alec and grins, as their Uber pulls up.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> So, of course I have considered that this might be the natural ending to the series. But I haven't quite decided. I have more ideas, and this series have become such a comfort to me. Now of all times, the world being what it is, it might be difficult to say goodbye to that comfort. So I'm on the fence for the moment, and could probably be persuaded either way, if any of you have thoughts.
> 
> Thank you, as always, for following this journey! Again, hope you are staying healthy and sane.


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